It Don't Mean a Thing
by clara-eloise
Summary: Bella is there when Jacob phases for the first time. It changes the course of their relationship, but this is challenged when Jacob takes Bella swing dancing and Edward Cullen is the instructor.
1. Transformation

The night Jacob Black phases for the first time, he is lying in Bella Swan's arms. It is not the way he has repeatedly fantasized about it. His skin feels like it is bubbling under the surface, and Bella claims that he's burning up, but he feels cold as ice and itchy – so itchy he could rip his skin off and start again. He could swear – it sounds so strange – that his very bones are moving of their own accord under his skin. And he's got to be hallucinating, because even as Bella is leaning over him on the couch saying "Jake, Jake! Stay with me Jake or I swear to god I'll kill you" – even then he can smell every particle of her skin almost like he can taste her and he's filled with both longing and fear.

He thinks he's probably dying.

Bella, for one, can't believe what's happening. An hour ago she was with Mike Newton and Jake at the movies– Mike went home sick, and Jake seemed to crumple and collapse beside her. She didn't let him go for a second. Somehow she managed to half-drag, half-support him to the car. _Hospital_, she thought. _Right now_. She drove with shaking hands, all the time giving anxious glances at Jake's unnaturally ashen face in the passenger seat, as he leaned forward, his curtain of hair hiding his eyes. It was terrible seeing him felled like this. Just. Not Jake. She'd phoned Billy on the way to meet them at the hospital, but when he asked what Jake's symptoms were and she told him, the line went curiously silent for the longest time.

"Billy? Are you still there?"

"Bring him home, Bella. It sounds like mono."

"You are kidding, right, Billy?"

Bella could be pretty stubborn, that was no secret. When Billy wheeled out to the car, she ignored his pleas to leave. What did she care if she caught this virus, whatever it was? This was Jake, and he was in pain. End of.

"What you going to do Billy, put him on your knee and wheel him inside?"

"Sam will be here soon."

Billy kept saying this, like a mantra. All the time Jacob was lying on the sofa, avoiding eye contact, somehow _inside_ himself. Billy was twitchy as a grandma stealing from the offerings plate in church. _Sam will be here soon. _

'So what?' Bella thought. 'I'm staying.' It wasn't like Sam Uley was known for his medical skills. Maybe this was some Quileute thing, that they thought they could heal him with – what – herbs? Prayer? Dancing in the moonlight? Okay, maybe not that.

Now she keeps going to Jake, holding him as he lies on the sofa, stroking his forehead, pulling his hair back off his face. Billy tries to shoo her back – "Bella, it's not safe. Please. Stand back from him a little."

His eyes. Oh God. They are black with pain. And then his whole body begins to convulse. Bella does step back then, more out of fright than anything, and feels Billy grab hold of her.

Jake is screaming. No. _Howling. _And there is a noise like something wet being torn – a blur, a rush of wind at Bella's side as she is flung to the floor, dazed.

"Get OUT Bella!" Billy's voice rises in panic. The room is spinning.

Bella's eyes seek Jake. He is not on the sofa. He has gone. She briefly takes in the remains of his black T-shirt and denim jeans shredded on the floor.

In the far corner of the room there is a gigantic hairy animal growling and snarling.

"It's okay, Jacob," says a soothing voice from the doorway. Bella and Billy have backed away, are pressed up against the opposite wall.

"Sam," Billy urges.

Bella cannot speak. She watches the tanned figure of Sam Uley – wearing no shirt – walk across the room holding up one hand. He shimmers, then bursts – no other way to explain it – and suddenly Sam is gone and there are two wolves in the room.

Bella's mind struggles to compute.

She stares silently as the black Sam wolf crosses the room, and nuzzles the form of the reddish haired wolf who is still huddled in the corner. The moonlight suddenly breaks through the window and lights up the room. Bella can see the outlines of trees; Jake's garage where they'd spent so many days fixing cars. Is it possible that world is still there? It seems in an instant everything has changed.

"Jake?" Bella moves with trepidation across the room. The black wolf growls at her, but she keeps going, stopping a few paces away from the reddish furred wolf and kneeling down on the floor.

She looks into his eyes and sees fear. And something else.

"Jake, are you there?"

She reaches across and strokes the back of the wolf. He looks so afraid.

"It's okay, Jake. Whatever this is, I'm here."

The wolf whines. The black Sam wolf has backed away, his tongue hanging out, watching, calculating.

"I'm sorry Sam. She wasn't meant to be here if this happened," Billy explains.

"You _knew_ about this? You knew this could happen? And you didn't tell him?"

Bella starts to cry.

Okay, so I'm a wolf, Jacob thinks. And a hundred synapses in his brain explode. He has images assault his memory: every strange look Sam Uley has given him lately; all the times Billy asked him if he was feeling _hot_; the way that smells seemed to be almost physical objects lately; the _itching._

Okay, so Sam Uley is a wolf too. And somehow he's inside his mind having a cosy little chat that runs along the lines of _this is your Quileute heritage blah blah blah…spirit wolves who can transform between human and animal form blah blah blah…really amazing once you get used to it…_

Is this guy serious?

And then everything is okay, because Bella is there, and she's touching him, touching his fur, of all things, and he starts to calm down. Because even if he is a wolf, at least she is there. She has not run away screaming, like she should. Why has she not run away screaming?

Jake looks into her eyes, and feels the universe expand. He sees stars collide and meteors implode, and entire solar systems flash past his consciousness. His heart reaches out from his furry chest and latches onto Bella Swan. She. Is. His.

Bella curls up beside him and holds him around the neck, murmuring to him, and his breath slows till he begins to quiver a little.

"Bella, let him change back now," Sam Uley, in human form, gently pulls her away from Jacob. The wolf shimmers, contracts, and Jacob is back. Sam is gripping her by the shoulders, leading her away from him through the doorway.

"Come on, Bella, give the guy some privacy. He won't want you to see him like this."

"Oh…" Bella looks back. Jacob is very naked – strong, curled around himself, like a warm living Greek God. His face is a real picture. Bashful. Joyful. Confused.

This is the night that Jacob imprints on Bella.

From here on in he doesn't want to let her out of his sight.


	2. A Hair Cut

"You think it's _easy_ to tattoo a wolf?" Jacob grins at her, raising an eyebrow. "Our skin is super-thick, super-tough, Bella." He flexes an arm, showing off shimmering brown skin and hard muscle.

"I just don't see why you have to do it. Haven't you been through enough?" Bella remembers the night he phased, and the panic and confusion in the aftermath. It had taken weeks for him to accept what was happening to him. That monsters were real. That being a Quileute meant having some crazy magical DNA that would dictate that he would never be normal again. Her heart ached for the sunny smiling boy she used to fix trucks with.

Jake shrugs. "It's part of the process, I suppose. Billy says it's symbolic – becoming one of the Pack. Just happens to be a slight problem that the needle has to be ten times the size of a normal one. My luck, I guess."

"And the hair?" Bella looks longingly at the waterfall of brown glossy hair that falls onto Jake's shoulders. "You'll be changed."

Jake's eyes look wounded, and his reply is husky. "I'll still be me, Bella. And the hair I'll be glad to see the back of. It's too hot, for one. I don't think this is something I can run away from any more." He gives her a knowing glance. It was something they had spoken about, running away – heading for California and driving down the coast. Bella knew, though, that Jake could not run away from himself. The wolf would follow him even then. He'd be worried sick about phasing in the truck with her, or near her at night. It still worried him – how he could be friends with her and not hurt her.

Bella stands and looks up at him. "Let me see, then. Sit down where I can get to you. I'll fetch a pair of scissors." And Jake, even though he knows it should really be one of the elders doing this job, finds her a pair of sharp scissors and lets her tie a tea towel around his neck.

Bella is no hairdresser. But somehow for both of them the thought that it is Bella making this change soothes them. Even if she mucks it up and leaves him looking like a scarecrow.

She watches him from all angles, then carefully begins the first cut, close to the nape of his neck. She briefly thinks of Samson and Delilah. Smiles. Then brings around the fistful of hair to Jake and puts it on his lap. Silently, he accepts it, leans back in the chair and sighs a little.

Bella can't help it. She runs her fingers through his cut locks, scratching his scalp until he moans at the touch. Tries to figure out where to cut next, like it's a lump of granite she has to shape into a statue. She starts with the sides, shapes above the ears – not taking off too much. Charlie has a hair trimmer somewhere she can use later to make it even. Then uses a wet comb to shape the back so it's short but not ridiculous. Trims like she has seen hairdressers do. Doesn't really know what she's doing, but tries to feel her way nonetheless.

Jake has goose-bumps on his neck. He feels Bella's deft little fingers snipping here and there, and it's like he's pinned to the spot. She barely touches the hair at the nape of his neck and it sends shivers down his spine. He can feel his hair fluttering down from his shoulders to the floor – black as his name. The old Jacob being shorn away. Then she gets Charlie's hair trimmer and a delicious zzzzz hums around his head. He closes his eyes and imagines a summer day with bees hovering on blooms, his hand entwined with Bella's as the sun beats down on him. Just when he thinks she must be finished, he hears a little sigh and then she's massaging his head. She has quick nimble fingers pressing at his skull. It doesn't seem right to point out to her how thick his skull is – how inhuman he is now. It's not like he'll ever get a pressure headache again. And yet his skin still feels human, because her touch is setting him alight, sending shudders down his body. He lets out a low growl in his throat before he can help it and she lets her hands drop. Darn.

Bella is flushed, uncertain. She gives him a wooden hand mirror to look in. Jake sees a stranger. _Oh, it's Me. _His features have become more defined. He looks harder; older. She's managed to leave the front long enough to look a bit punk. The sides nicely shaved in.

"That's awesome, Bells," Jacob cries, jumping up and hugging her small frame, tea towel and black hair flying wildly around the living room.

"Are you sure you like it?" Bella is uncertain, caught up in his embrace. "I don't want the tribe to come hunt me down." He's so warm and strong that Bella nearly gasps.

The thought of anyone hunting Bella down momentarily makes Jake's jaw tighten. Any threat to Bella…any possibility that the tribe would try to separate them…but they wouldn't, surely? An imprint was an imprint, even if it was with a very white, very pale girl from Arizona.

"I love it, Bella."

_I love __**you**__. I love __**you**__. _He ignores the inner monologue. There are so many things he wishes he could say to his best friend. _I __**love**__ you. I __**want **__you. And not just because I imprinted on you. __**Well **__before then._

"Will they be mad at me for cutting your hair before the ceremony?"

"Nah…it'll be a bunch of stories around the campfire and then about three hours of old Quil stabbing me about a thousand times with a needle and getting ink to sink into my dermis. You should come, it'll be awesome."

Bella winces. "I hate to think of you being in pain. They already know you are not going to walk away from this. It's a bit cultish, this tribal badge." Part of her, though she won't admit it, feels like they will be taking Jacob away from her, making her one of them. She won't really analyze why she hates this so much.

"Come, Bella. For me. I need you there." Jacob holds both her hands and looks into her eyes.

She nods, hugs him. _She's come this far with him along this crazy road. Why stop now?_


	3. Campfire Potlatch

Bella is sitting beside Sue Clearwater, watching the sun go down behind James Island. She's wearing about three layers of fleece from Newton's in anticipation of a frosty night, and knowing Jacob will be too occupied to be her heat source tonight. Still, she shivers, and Sue wraps a Quileute blanket around her shoulders.

"Thanks. It's beautiful." Bella admires the black, red and white pattern. She can't quite make out the animal figures in the totem patterns.

Jacob had spent the early part of the evening by her side – holding her hand actually. She'd had an odd feeling in her stomach, even though everyone had been more welcoming and friendly than she could have imagined.

"That's Janene Foster, the tribal Chairwoman…and the drum group," Jacob pointed out as folk arrived on the beach. "My principal…(the spectacled man gave him a wave and a smile) Luke – he's a coastguard…and the master carver." Jacob gestured to a man holding a long carved paddle.

"All these people are here because they want to see you turn into a wolf?" Bella shook her head in disbelief.

Jacob laughed. "It's a lot more than that, Bella. You'll see."

Sam and Harry light the fires on First Beach, and everyone huddles round. Bella finds herself beside a burly man in a fishing jacket and baseball hat, who sorts her out for a seafood plate, some fry bread and hot dogs. Bella picks up the hot dog and looks at it. Do these people have an over-developed sense of irony? She catches Jake's eye – he's over at another campfire, deep in discussion with the Chairwoman, but he smiles briefly at her and his eyes are warm.

Bella can't believe how normal it all feels. She sits back with a full stomach and watches the stars come out above the cedar trees.

Then the stories begin.

It's the school principal who starts to speak. He has a nice voice, like honey. He tells a tribal tale about Raven shooting trickster arrows for his greed, and makes a joke about the food they've all just gorged themselves on. Then Sue comes forward and tells a story about a thunderbird who can carry a whale in its beak and cause thunder with its wings. In turn, other Quileutes step up and give their own tales: about cannibal ogresses and cold ones who suck blood, about Q'wati the transformer creating sun, moon and stars and moving the tides.

Bella is lost in the smoke from the fire, and the gleam of burning driftwood, engrossed in a past world of foggy salmon rivers and distant figures wearing cedarbark clothes. She listens, digging her feet into the ocean sand.

"_Q'waeti' journeyed to the Quileute land where he encountered two wolves. He transformed the wolves into people. He told these people that they must also be brave, like the wolves they have come from, for they would face many challenges. Yet their strength would protect themselves and those around them."_

Then the Chairwoman, Janene Foster, steps forward to speak.

"We Quileutes have many challenges. We are a growing tribe who live on a fraction of the land we are entitled to," she gestures around her at La Push. "We live in close harmony with the ocean and yet we are also in terrible danger from it, at risk from flooding and even tsunami. With one road in and out of our community, we could find ourselves in a trap." Janene speaks about her recent visit to Washington, the legislation being proposed to reclaim much-needed tribal land and the lobbying of senators.

"We live between two worlds: the old world of our own traditions, and the new world of the society we are a part of. We cannot help but be affected. Our own people speak more English than Quileute, and we must work hard to retain our native identity. But there is hope. The old can exist alongside the new – make us more valuable – and stronger. We can learn to carve -" here, Janene nods towards the master carver – "and also open new facilities for all the community to benefit from. A new pool. Even a juice bar." She smiles, and there is a ripple of amusement from the older tribe members.

"Tonight is a night for celebration. The Quileutes have a new protector, Jacob Black."

Jacob steps forward and Janene puts his arm around his shoulder – no mean feat since he is about two feet taller than her. Her gesture is very maternal. It reminds Bella, sadly, that Jake really should have his mother here tonight. She finds tears in her eyes before she can help it.

"I will try to live up to that." Jacob looks out at the crowd. "If anything should happen – flood, tsunami – I promise my first priority will be getting the children out of La Push." Sam stands up then and envelops him in a bear hug, slaps his back and grins. They share a look that speaks of shared responsibility.

"I had no idea." Bella says softly to herself. This was what it was all about then? Taking care of the tribe, their future, should anything bad happen? Suddenly she feels churlish for ever having thought that the tribe were – what did she call it – cultish? Her face reddens with embarrassment, more tears threaten to spill. She's been a complete fool. Whatever Jacob has been through, the task that he's been chosen for is not a genetic doom – it's an honour, a gift.

It's like her eyes have been cleared after a long sleep.

Her Jacob is a hero.


	4. Dances with Wolves

Bella knows when she's been had.

"Jacob Black. This is ridiculously unfair."

The boy she is complaining to uncoils himself lazily on the sofa beside her and opens one sleepy eye.

"Bells, promises are promises. I pick up your sorry ass from the side of the road when you've broken down; you give me one bona fide actual date."

Bella harrumphs and puts a cushion over her head so the words are muffled. "It's not a date, and even if it was it would be the date from hell." She's beginning to suspect that Jacob has placed some inbuilt flaw in the engine of her red truck just so he could be her knight in shining armour on that god-awful-freezing Forks morning three weeks ago. He wouldn't do that though, surely – even if he does try to be a little more than friends sometimes. Even if that does put her into a spin so she blushes and doesn't know what to say, or where to look. Because, well, he's just Jake, _after_ all.

"Aw...don't be like that." Jacob grins smugly. "It's only _dancing_."

"Exactly. You know what I'm talking about then. Why this? You could have the movies, or an evening fixing up my truck in the garage...hey, I'd even go cliff diving again rather than go through this _torture_."

Jacob shoots her a dark look of amusement, and then settles back with his arms folded behind his head. "Nope. This is...just... fine."

No amount of exasperated huffing and puffing is going to change his mind, Bella can tell. Once he gets stubborn, Jacob is pretty immovable. It's times like this she sees the wolf in him, standing before an enemy, focused yet taking a stand that won't be budged.

"You know I didn't even go to my Prom, Jake. Two left feet, remember? You'll be scraping me off the floor. I'll just be an embarrassment to you. Why don't you take someone else?" Bella is wheedling now, but this is a situation that calls for desperate measures.

"Scraping you off the floor..." Jacob ponders. That means Bella, clinging to him dizzily, his arms around her waist, relying on him to halt the effects of gravity. And this is supposed to be a counter-argument? "That sounds good to me. Besides, Quil and Embry will be there. And Embry's been buggin' my ass about his fancy footwork and marvellous twinkle toes. Keeps muttering something about us Quileute boys having natural rhythm. I think he's just making a fool of himself over the cute dance teacher though."

Bella pauses for thought. Well, if the others are going...she has to admit, there could be some potential for fun – if they let her just sit at the side and watch.

"Well, I really don't think I have anything to wear."

Jacob looks her up and down, from the tips of her bare unpainted toenails to the soft brown hair hanging loose. He scrutinises her boy-cut jeans and brown fleece vest, then smiles wickedly.

"'kay. You can go naked. I can deal."

Bella's mouth pops open, then she hits him with a cushion. Hard. On the nose. As usual, Jake barely flinches. Why does she bother? It's really frustrated knowing that her limited attempts at getting back at him are about as effectual as swatting off a fly. But she'll be darned if she'll stop retaliating. God knows what would happen then.

"Don't worry," Jacob takes her hand and pulls her up off the sofa. "Your normal, comfy, Bella clothes are just fine for dancing." He spins her around, catching her by the waist as she inevitably tilts off-balance.

"And one day, Bells, when you _finally_ give in to my charm and marry me I'll make the tribe give you a special new native name."

"What would that be Jacob?" Bella has to ask, despite herself, ready for the smart-alecky answer.

"Dances with Wolves, baby."


	5. Swing

_**A/N This is somewhat canon-compliant, although I've changed a few essential details to please myself. The Cullens have only recently arrived in Forks for the very first time. There is, therefore, no prior treaty with the wolves, and so…the wolves have never met a good vampire.**_

It's raining hard and Jacob Black is soaked to the skin. He laughs, blinking raindrops from his eyes and opens a broken umbrella as he ushers Bella from the Rabbit towards the rec centre.

This isn't a smirr of rain, or a tinkling or even a gentle pitter-patter. It's as if someone up there in the heavens is pouring freezing cold November rain down in buckets, then laughing as they are blown back into people's faces. The umbrella is inside-out instantly, then snapped by Jacob's brute force when trying to get it to behave. Bella is wearing a black shirt and jeans, and in the couple of minutes it takes to get from the car park to the building, she is soaked to the skin.

So is Jake. He has drops of rain trickling down his nose from his dripping wet hair. He laughs, then shakes himself off like a dog.

"Ew! Jake!" Bella is shivering already, and trying not to shiver, and wondering if things can get much worse. Then Jacob peels off his sodden shirt and stands there, annoyingly already warm and dry underneath . Darned wolf.

"Uh, Jake..." Bella whispers . "Someone's going to notice that you are your own personal hairdryer." The steam is practically coming off his perfectly sculpted 108.9 Fahrenheit body.

Jacob grins and opens his rucksack, pulling out a dark waistcoat, which he puts on over his chest, buttoning up. It doesn't cover much, quite frankly, just accentuates his arm muscles and the pecs that are straining against the fabric.

"I am _trying _to be human," he comments. "Embry lent me this. Did _you_ bring a change of clothes?" He lets his eyes run over Bella's small frame, wet cotton clinging to her curves in a rather appealing way.

Bella sighs. Is it just convenient that Jacob forgot to bring her jacket back from La Push tonight? Another ploy to get her freezing and close to him? Funny how he is always encouraging her to hike on the beach in the icy cold with him, or throw endless snowballs in her back garden on school-free snow days . He's ecstatically willing to warm her up afterwards - '_for your own good, Bella, can't have you catching cold. What would Charlie say?_' And here they are again. She still hasn't learned, has she?

Suddenly he's leading her by the hand - one warm hand in hers, the other cosy paw around her wet waist – through the doors and into the hall, where they are met by a wall of sound and movement.

Bella pauses and takes in the sight before her. She can still run, can't she? Back into the rain, screaming? Would she really risk Jacob phasing and rushing after her, dragging her back inside with his jaws?

For up on a raised stage there are two of the most perfect dancers Bella has ever seen. _She _is wearing a red forties style wrap-over dress, with rolled blonde hair and red lipstick and gloves to match. Being twirled and spun one second, then lifted effortlessly into the air by the waist the next, then _doing the splits for Christsakes _. Then the next minute the guy flips her over his arm and then finishes by dipping her low to the ground with just a hand supporting the back of her neck.

"I think I'll go now..."

"Oh no, you don't..." Jacob pulls her along in a tight grip to where a crowd of Quileute friends are whooping and clapping along to the music.

"Jake..this is...is it..._swing _dancing?"

"Yup."

And suddenly Bella realises that the odd and sudden preoccupation with dancing that the Quileute boys have been showing lately has got diddly-squat to do with latent cultural heritage and absolutely everything to do with the 1940's goddess in front of her that they've quite obviously been crushing on.

And at that very moment her eyes move away from the blonde girl to find another pair of eyes staring over at her with a look of mixed amusement and surprise. Golden eyes, she would swear, in a pale angelic face. And Bella swears that her heart flips just like the blonde goddess did. Then the nanosecond passes, he looks away, and the spell is broken. Bella jerks and shivers. Jacob rubs her goose-pimpled arm. When she looks back over at the guy he has turned away and is adjusting the sound system at the back of the stage. She feels herself blushing like a total moron.

"Welcome to tonight's swing dance class. I'm Rosalie Hale and this is Edward Cullen." The blonde goddess has a voice like honey. "We're going to teach you beginners a little of the basic step tonight, and then later have some social dancing time where you can try out some of the moves you've learned."

Jake has guided Bella over to where Quil and Embry are standing, a little slack-jawed and spellbound by the undeniable beauty of Miss Hale. Bella barely notices as Jake's friends make comments upon various parts of Rosalie's anatomy and vie to see who will be dancing first with her later in the evening:

"She's like the perfect woman, dude. Did you see me last week doing the pretzel with her? She needs to get some _Ateara action_ going."

"Yeah, whatever, man. If you were an ice-cream you'd lick yourself, we know. She's a hottie, but boy does she need to change her perfume. Smells like dead roses. Soon as she starts to date me, I'm gonna buy her some new scent, like Calvin Klein or some shit like that."

Bella is so tuned out she doesn't even notice that Jacob is still holding her hand in public. He's actually counting in his head how long it will be before she drops it. He's made it to 35 seconds before, so tonight could be a personal record. He is fully aware of how pathetic this sounds inside his head, but if he could just make it to sixty seconds then he swears that something would shift between Bella and him, something real and astounding.

The music starts up. _Chattanooga Choo-Choo. _Jake leads her over to the dance floor, and she follows, much to his surprise. Maybe the rain has rattled her brain, washed out all resistance. He now has an excuse to hold her hand as Rosalie is demonstrating the hand hold with her perfectly poised red gloved fingers – boys palms up, girls palms down, finger curled together and gently leaning back on the heels to show how strong and safe a hold they are in. Jake leans back comically far and Bella knows if he lets her go she's a goner.

"This is very much a guy's dance," Rosalie grins, "mostly the girl just has to learn to follow...which if you are me, can be a tough call." She smiles at Edward and he raises his eyebrows.

Bella thinks that it is the most perfect eyebrow raise she has ever seen. In fact, she can honestly say she has never seen anyone like him before. And it's not just that he is miraculously good-looking, like a Michaelangelo sculpture – she knows that Jake's gorgeous too – it's something else about him. Like she walked in the room and ran into a wall. She feels dented and bruised, and something churning inside of her. This stranger makes her feel sick. This is definitely not a good thing.

Rosalie demonstrates the basic step. Bella moves her foot to the right and leans back to the left. Easy. She watches Rosalie put her right foot backwards and 'hop' lifting her front foot up. Mmm. Harder. But it's better to concentrate on the stupid steps than to look up at him again. Better to hold on to Jake, who quite frankly seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself and finding it all ridiculously easy.

Better than looking at Edward Cullen, who seems to be also looking at her. And smiling. Then frowning. Then smiling again. She's trying to place the word for that expression. Ah, yes. He's quizzical. Like Seth in the summer-time when he carried about that stupid rubix cube everywhere with him until he cracked it. Edward Cullen is looking at her like she's a puzzle to be solved.

"Yeah, I don't know why I'm here either," she mutters, forgetting momentarily about Jake's perfect hearing.

"Come on Bells, you are doing great." Jacob laughs and lifts an arm for Bella to spin under. She goes in the opposite direction and is suddenly tangled.

"Oops. Need a little help there?" Rosalie is suddenly beside them. "Let me show you how that's done." She prises Jacob away from Bella and taking his large hand with her red gloves, leads him to an empty space, wrinkling her nose slightly as if there is a bad smell in the air.

Bella finds herself beside Edward.

"Hello," he says politely. Bella is suddenly hyper-aware of her damp shirt, her clumsy feet, her eyes which have never been good at keeping feelings hidden. But before she can reply, Edward's expression changes. He pales – a thing she would not have thought possible – swallows hard and backs away. It's as if he has seen something he is afraid of. A few seconds later and he's disappeared out through the doors of the dance studio. The music is still playing and everyone else is spinning in couples, but Bella feels as if the world has just stopped turning and she's standing at the still point of it all, her mind swinging wildly.

_What just happened?_


	6. A Game of Cluedo

_**A/N: I couldn't resist the (true) 'Mr Black' reference here in the British version of Clue. I hope you will permit the indulgence. I do like the idea of board game playing in the Cullen house – if only they could have tea and biscuits too. Please excuse all British quirks and spellings.**_

Edward and Alice are not allowed to play. Instead, Edward is tinkering on the piano – Rachmaninoff concerto No.2. He pretends not to pay attention as Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett lie on the floor beside the game of Cluedo. It's the original British version of the game Clue, which Carlisle picked up in 1943 on a rare visit with Alistair. Alice pouts, but settles for keeping her partner happy, idly running her pixie fingers through Jasper's golden locks. She knows whether he'll win the game or not, but she's supposed to keep it to herself. Emmett has amused himself by drawing red eyes and vampire fangs onto all the playing pieces. Rosalie shuffles the cards and places a weapon, room, and character card inside the black envelope.

"So let's see who killed Mr Black…" Rosalie begins, rolling the dice.

Edward hits a wrong chord, pauses, stares at the wall. Rosalie still has not forgiven him for ditching her swing dance class yesterday. It's a hard one to explain. Only Alice, on his return to the house, gave him a look of understanding.

"So you met her today, then? What was she like?"

"Delicious."

"You didn't, Edward – I would have seen it – I mean – what did you do?"

Edward remembers himself sighing. "No, I just left. But believe me, Alice, I wanted to. I could have torn apart all the werewolves in that room just to get to her and taste her."

It was, just as Emmett had described to him once – a temptation strong enough to damn his soul if he even had one. And now it all hung upon ifs and buts._ If _she had been alone._ If_ Alice was not so certain that they needed her so much. But without that protection, surely Bella Swan would be dead by now.

"I can't read her thoughts, Alice. I don't like it. She could be dangerous."

"Of course she's dangerous, Edward. I've seen that. If you _don't_ keep her close, then we are all doomed – all of our family. If you _do_ keep her close then you risk starting a very bloody battle with the wolves."

"Damned if I do and damned if I don't."

Edward laughs bitterly. Rosalie looks up sharply from her game. She is Ms Scarlet, of course. Edward meets Jasper's eyes, who is glancing curiously over at him. The blonde vampire stretches, and smiles. A happy feeling washes over the room. Mood enhancer. Edward begins to play again, a softer and more soothing piece.

It had been Carlisle's idea, to keep an eye on the wolves.

"They don't know who we are. They barely understand who they are themselves. They would see vampires as a threat, no matter what lifestyle we choose to follow. We can only stay long enough to find out as much about them as we can, but not long enough for them to find out about us."

"Then I'll be the bait," Rosalie smiled. "But we'll need Edward." It had been round about then that Alice started having visions of a dark haired girl – flickering, transient images that morphed from heaven to hell and back again.

"It's Professor Plum, in the drawing room, with the dagger," Emmett says triumphantly.

"Wrong!" Alice sings.

Edward remembers her, blushing over her pale skin, as if she was awkward in her body. Not a natural dancer then – but who would look co-ordinated next to the deathly grace of his family? He had learned nothing from her. It was Jacob Black who had been more…educating. What he felt for Bella was something that Edward had rarely experienced from humans. Yes, he saw it in Carlisle and Esme, Alice and Jasper, even Rosalie and Emmett. But vampires were different, their natures immovable once they fixed upon the object of their affections. Jacob Black saw his entire being shaped around this person, every spark from her illuminated him. Edward could hear the heart raging loudly inside Jacob's wolf body, and he was surprised that Bella was not deafened by it. Could she really be so unaware of such adoration? What had Jacob thought - _Just keep holding on, Bella. I won't let you fall. _That fierce protection. They were certainly interesting, these wolf men.

Alice looks over at him. Her thoughts have been on the game, and annoying Emmett, but now she begins a silent communication with Edward.

_'You will need to see her again, you know.' _

Edward sighs. He's not sure he can be strong enough to be around her again just yet.

Alice lets her eyes fall on Edward, meaningfully. _'It's important. For all of us. Just – don't-'_

Edward meets her gaze.

'_-don't fall in love with her, Edward.'_


	7. New Kid

"Have you seen him yet?" Jessica gushes, slamming her Biology textbooks on the cafeteria table.

"Who?" Bella idly pokes at her half-eaten orange jello with a plastic spoon. The lunch room is crowded, with a high-pitched buzz pervading the hall even more than usual.

"My future husband," Jessica states dramatically, looking around the room furtively.

"There's a new guy in school today," Angela explains, arching an eyebrow. "He's not exactly the _normal _Forks High student."

"So…define normal?" Sometimes small town life could be somewhat prejudiced towards anyone different. "Does he have a tattoo? Piercings?" Bella grins, imaging Jessica dating a total rocker.

"Honestly, you can be so oblivious sometimes. You must be the only female in the entire school that hasn't seen him, checked out his car and memorised his timetable." Jessica rolls her eyes crossly.

"Well I know how it feels to be the new kid being gawked at. Maybe he would rather be left alone." Bella pushes her lunch away. She'll just go and get an apple instead. She's not in the mood today. Jake's been busy patrolling most evenings and sleeping most mornings so that she's hardly seen him since they went swing dancing together. She can't quite figure out why it bothers her so much. She certainly doesn't resent what he's doing over at La Push anymore. She just…misses him. _Oh get a grip, Bella. It's not like he's your boyfriend. _

Bella is on the verge of having a light-bulb go off in her head when someone upsets her apple cart. Yes, literally. The cafeteria has an apple cart full of local Washington autumn produce, designed to encourage students to have their 5-a-day, and some clot has just barged into it beside her and knocked free a pile of fruit onto the ground. Bella sighs and bends down to collect them.

"Honeycrisp?" A hand reaches out in offering.

"Huh?" Bella looks up to see a pair of golden eyes, framed with dark lashes, strangely pale skin, bronzed hair. Edward Cullen.

She remembers his name straight away. The next thing she does is blush.

_Damn._

"They bruise easily, but I think I saved this one."

He's still holding out the apple for her, gingerly. Bella takes it, feels like an idiot, mutters thanks and turns to walk away. She's surprised to find him following at her elbow, out the cafeteria doors and into the quieter hallway.

"You're Bella, right? The girl from the swing class?"

"Uh…yeah. I'm not really much of a…" Bella pauses, looks at him. Oh. So this is the _new kid_. Grey cashmere sweater with epaulets on the shoulder, obviously designer jeans (Armani, most of the girls at school could have told her, as they'd been watching his backside all morning.)

"You don't like to dance?" Edward smiles then, like he's really amused at her. She shakes her head, bites her lip.

"Does that mean you won't be coming back to my class?" Edward looks more serious then, as if the answer to his question really matters.

"Probably not. Sorry. But I'm sure you won't be short of people to come along." _That'll be an understatement. After today he'll have half of Forks High crashing La Push recreation centre. No need to guess which half. _"Aren't you a little young to be a dance instructor?"

Edward runs his hand through his hair, scratches the back of his neck, laughs (_nervously_?) "Um, I've sort of being doing that kind of dancing most of my life –"

"I'm sorry, that sounded really insulting. I just meant that you –look- older than you are. I wouldn't have guessed that you would be enrolling at Forks High. So you're a senior, then?" Bella wonders if the corridor might do her a favor and open up there and then and swallow her whole.

"I am a senior. Again." Edward says, leaning against a locker.

"Oh, you move around a bit? That sucks." Bella nods knowingly.

"And you? Have you always lived in Forks?"

"No I grew up in Arizona where my Mom lives - My Dad's Charlie Swan - he's the chief of police here and I just moved last year here permanently after my Mom remarried." _Okay Bella, quit with the verbal diarrhoea. Slow down and breathe. _

"Will I like it here?" Edward smiles at her. Encouragingly, she thinks.

"Will _you _like it?" Bella pauses. _What a strange question_. "I don't know. It's a small town. Everyone knows each other's business. I don't like that so much. But it depends on whether you have something to hide, I suppose."

"And do you?" he prompts. His eyes seem to bore into her.

"What?"

"Have anything to hide?"

The bell rings to signal the end of lunch, and as students pore out of the hallway, Bella stands, gaping. Edward Cullen gives her a heart-breaking smile, then puts his hands in his pockets and heads down the corridor into the oncoming student body traffic. They part for him like the red sea before Moses.

"O. My. God. Bella, are you for real? What did he say to you? I saw you leave with him! Tell me everything…" Jessica grabs her arm and begins a tirade of inquisition. Bella merely stands and endures, holding her untouched apple, twirling the stem round and round thoughtfully.

"…and he definitely glanced over my way a few times. Did you mention my name? Did you say we were friends?" Jessica pauses, more from the necessity of breathing than anything else.

"Is this called a honeycrisp?" Bella holds up the red and yellow mottled apple.

"How would I know? Are we still talking about Edward Cullen?"

…..

It is a petty thing to do, but tempt not a desperate man. Edward switches a couple of cables round in the bonnet of Bella's '53 Chevy pick-up so that when she fires the engine it flickers and dies.

From across the parking lot the vampire watches her mounting frustration. He waits until she takes out her mobile phone before swiftly (as swiftly as could be allowed in the circumstances) crossing to her truck and tapping on the window.

"-Hold on Jake, there's someone here."

Bella looks at Edward through the glass. He can't read her expression at all, but she seems to be blushing again. Maybe she has rosacea. _A rose by any other name._ _Focus, Edward. _She rolls down the window.

"Can I be of any assistance?" His voice. Polite, old-fashioned.

"Uh…well. My car has died. Again. But I'm on the phone to someone who can help, so it's okay, really."

_That will be Jacob Black then. This could be interesting. _"If it would save you time, I'd be more than happy to run you home, and your friend could come to collect the truck in his own time."

She hesitates, cradles the phone to her ear. Edward imagines then, with a thrill, what it would actually be like having her in his car. The smell of her. Knowing what he could do to her, and knowing that he absolutely must not. _Yes, she would be far better waiting for Jacob Black._ But he has no intention of letting that happen.

"Um. "

She says that a lot. It's incredibly frustrating, not being able to read her. Edward has spent most of his existence wishing he could shut out the voices and seal himself off in blessed silence. Never before has he wished to be able to enter the mind of a mere mortal.

"I'm here," the voice of Jacob Black says in Bella's ear through her phone, and right enough, in the distance Edward can hear the grating rumble of a motorbike. He mutters, inaudibly.

"Thanks, I'll be fine." Bella smiles_. Is that a warm smile? A polite smile?_ Edward can't tell. Withdrawing in frustration, he nods his head. Here comes the wolf mechanic - he'll only have to take one look at Bella's truck to know that it's been tampered with. It's time Edward left.

Jacob Black drives faster than he should, pulling his Harley to a stop beside the truck as Edward is walking swiftly away. Doesn't give him a glance though. His eyes are all for Bella and his thoughts are all consuming: thirsty man in the desert; blind man groping for the light; an artist looking upon the masterpiece he has created with eyes of awe. Edward struggles to understand it. She's just a girl. Certainly, a girl who smells delicious, but she's distinctly average for a human. Yet Jacob Black makes her more fascinating. Because maybe, Edward imagines, as he reaches the Volvo and slides in with one fluid motion, maybe what is special about her is the same intangible element that Alice sees: somewhere in her thoughts lies the key to this. Why she is tempting to him. Why she is adored by Jacob Black. Why Alice sees her fate tied up with that of the Cullens.

If only Edward could read her mind.

Well, at least, he can stick around and read Jacob Black's mind.

...

Bella feels a rush of warmth tide over her as Jacob sweeps her off her feet and into an embrace.

"It's been forever," he says in a low voice in her ear.

"I missed you too." For once Bella doesn't pull away. They stand like that, for a minute at least, until Jacob clears his throat, steps back, holding out her hands and laughing.

"So, damsel in distress routine again. Bella? What did you do? Forget to double pump the clutch? Run over a weasel and get it stuck in your axle? "

"Hey, I thought your 'mad skills' were supposed to have sorted this problem." Bella grumbles.

"Can't be the same issue. Let's have a look under the hood." Jacob rolls up his sleeves eagerly and gets to work. Bella sits down on the grass beside the parking lot and settles in for a long spell.

"Well, that's weird." Jacob leans into the Chevy and turns the key in the ignition. It springs to life immediately. "Bella, did you switch your wires around? Cos if you wanted to see me, you didn't have to sabotage the truck, you just had to say so…" He scratches his head and plunks down on the grass beside her.

"I hate to tell you Jake, but women are not as complicated as cars." Bella punches him lightly on the arm to punctuate her point.

"You could have fooled me. Seriously though, Bells. Someone has been messing with your truck." Jacob frowns, clenches his fists and thinks thunderous thoughts. _Who would do this? Newton? Tyler? Some stupid ass thinking it was a prank? _He scans the car park to see if all is clear: there's no movement. Then in one swift motion he lifts up his bike and places it in the back of Bella's truck.

"You know, one of these days you might have to explain to someone how you can lift a 500 pound motorbike with one hand," Bella comments wryly. As if she'd admit that she actually gets a kick out of Jake's abnormal strength. Yeah, he'd definitely enjoy that idea way too much and would only be casually bench-pressing tree trunks in front of her to bring on the blushes. Okay, now she's thinking about his abs again, which doesn't help. At least today they are contained under a black T-shirt. She finds herself thinking about those abs in a way that constrains the bounds of friendship.

"How much do _you_ weigh, Bella? About a fifth of my bike, so maybe I could lift you with one finger…" Jacob has a gleam in his eye as he approaches her.

"Oh no…you don't. Jake! Jake!" She squeals as his arm snakes around her waist, turns her upside down as easily as if she were a toddler, begins to tickle her mercilessly while sauntering over to the truck. Bella's fists pointlessly rain down on his back.

"Careful Bella, you might strain something." That smile of his. Cheeky. Arrogant. Contagious. Bella laughs, shakes her head as Jacob settles her into the passenger seat.

"Mind if I drive her home for old time's sake?"

"Be my guest."

Jake fires the engine and pulls out across the parking lot. His body heat has instantly steamed up the window and Bella frantically begins to wipe it. Through the condensation she sees Edward's Volvo parked across the lot. She thinks she catches a glimpse of him still inside, sitting upright like a statue. Remembers his words to her earlier: _Do you have anything to hide? _

Not me, she finally thinks of a reply. _Him. _She glances over at Jacob fearfully. What if Edward has seen him lifting the bike? Lifting her? What's Edward still doing in the parking lot anyway?

'_I'd be more than happy to run you home,'_ he had said.

Involuntarily, she shivers, and Jake, mistaking her for being cold, lays a warm hand over her knee. He thinks he's comforting her, reassuring her. Bella folds her hand on top of his and squeezes, wants her whole being in that moment to tell him that he's wrong. It's the other way round.

She'd do anything to protect him. Anything to protect his secrets.


	8. You

"How do you feel about going swing dancing again?" Jacob waggles his eyebrows. It's the Sunday night of an all-too-long weekend apart, and they are making lasagne as an excuse to spend the evening together.

"Mmm. Swing dancing. Should have a health warning attached: May cause excessive clumsiness. "

"I had _fun_ stopping you from tripping over your own feet. Besides, the guys are going next weekend – Sam is on patrol and I'm a free man. Anyway, Edward said he'd love to teach me how to flip you over my head."

Bella's back is turned – she's spooning roasted baby tomatoes into the lasagne dish – so Jacob doesn't see the expression on her face.

"Edward Cullen?"

"Yeah, the guy who takes the class - he says he knows you from school?"

"When did you run into Edward?"

"Oh, I was getting brake pads for the Rabbit and he was buying an oil filter for his Volvo and we started talking. You know he can electronically tune that thing?"

"You know I have no idea what that means Jake."

Jake does the silly thing and tries to explain. All Bella hears _is '…__performance-oriented model…ECU…aggressively prepared from the factory…'_ All the while she's trying to piece the bigger picture together. Jake has met Edward Cullen, and apparently he's some kind of car God, which makes Jake more than willing to worship at his altar.

"Don't you find him a little…odd?"

"Well, I know his personal hygiene could be a bit improved, but I'm not holding that against the guy. He really helped me out in the garage figuring out that there were deposits on the spark plugs – although I was thinking as much myself. He's really cool, Bella. You should give him a chance."

Bella stirs the béchamel sauce thoughtfully, but doesn't reply. There's several weird things here. She didn't peg Edward as the car type at all – guys with fancy cars often didn't know what was under the hood and were quite happy to let someone else fix them – yet here he's been in Jake's garage. And as for personal hygiene – what was that strange comment all about?

Fate seems determined that Edward Cullen be a part of her life: first at a dance class, then at school, and now making friends with Jacob. She remembers the feeling she had driving out of the parking lot at school. Edward had been watching them. And now, just by co-incidence he's befriended Jake. She puts down her wooden spoon carefully.

"What if someone found out about us, Jake? That you were all wolves. What could they do to you?" She has visions of Jacob in his wolf form, caged, being experimented on. As much of a freak as those poor deformed souls they used to parade in circuses: fat ladies, dwarves and Siamese twins.

"Bells! What's gotten into you?"

The look on his face. Absurd. Concerned.

That's when she realises how ridiculous she is being. She laughs.

"I think I'm turning into a conspiracy theorist. Sorry Jake."

Jacob puts his arms around her waist, pulls her in for a cuddle.

"You worry too much. It's very sweet, though. And I like the "us" part."

"What?"

"You said 'us…found out about _us?_" Jake's looking at her in that hopeful way he has sometimes, his brown eyes full of absolute devotion. Bella's heart begins to beat faster. She wants to say so many things. How much she's missed him lately. How of course there is an 'us' because she's tied into this too, and it's crept up on her slowly, how much it matters what happens to Jake because…because…

She stops short, takes a deep breath and for the very first time in her life just lets go and allows herself to fall.

"It's always been you, Jake."

She feels very calm all of a sudden, now that it's been said. Instead, it's him who is frozen in surprise. She notices several things – the cheese bubbling in the pan, the shards of dried lasagne that he's broken up in his hands, scattered on the floor, the clock at exactly 8 o'clock at night, the song that is playing on the radio –

"tonight the moon is a mirrorball / Light flickers from across the hall / Who'll catch the star when it falls…"

The whole world feels heightened and alive.

Then Jake's lips crash into her, and she's slammed up against the kitchen counter so that she gasps. He's lifting her up and she automatically wraps her legs around his waist while her stomach explodes in a thousand fragments of joy and desire.

He pulls back and looks at her flushed face and bright eyes.

"Bella."

She nods and beams and they are kissing again until everything is forgotten: no room, no dinner, nobody else in the whole world except them and why would they ever need anybody else anyway?

Bella finds that Jacob's lips are an undiscovered country – she gently presses her own lips to the corner of his mouth, exploring with fluttering kisses across his bottom lip, his top lip and gently tasting him with her tongue pressed to his until his breath hitches. She strokes the back of his head where she has given him the hair cut, just as he runs his fingers under the back of her shirt, creating spasms of pleasure that run up and down her spine. It's like someone has just torched en entire dry and stricken continent and all she can do is burn burn burn.

"Jake…Jake…wait a moment. I need to breathe."

She rests her head on his shoulder, closes her eyes. They stand still, lost in time. Jake looks into her eyes. It's all he's ever wanted, hoped for. He would have waited forever, and now here she is. So unexpectedly.

Bella looks back, smiles, touches his nose.

"You," she says.

"You" he sighs.


	9. Saturdays

Saturdays are the best days of the week. Bella's up and out the door before Charlie is awake, leaving the usual missive on the table: her Dad's favourite Cheerio's packet and a scribbled note saying _Gone to La Push, back late tonight x. _

She loves those drives, twenty-five minutes of anticipation all through the rain and sleet on November and December, being thankful for these uncharacteristically warm winter days that have meant no heavy falls of snow since back in October. She thinks it must be Jake – he's warmed up the whole of Washington State. Maybe spring will come early this year. Such foolishness only lovers can dream up, but Bella doesn't care. She sings along to the radio, enjoys the thrum of the truck and the awesome scenery down the 101 and onto La Push Rd. When she corners at By-Yak-Way and rounds onto Ocean Drive, there's the Pacific to her left and the excitement thrills through her: _I'm nearly there, Jake. _

Of course he's waiting for her on the wheelchair ramp, running over as the truck pulls in, opening the door before she's even cut the engine.

"Bella."

A long hug and she's home, then Jacob grabs her hand and leads her into the kitchen. Fry-up – bacon, eggs, toast, sometimes pancakes and maple syrup. Catching up on the reservation gossip with Billy: the new steelhead fishing schedule that's been published; his friend Levi who has been given a Red Cross coastguarding award; how the candlelight vigil went this week to honour the Veterans.

Then Bella and Jacob grab a couple of bags of chips and some cans of soda and head out to the garage. Jacob tinkers with whatever he's currently working on – in between a lot of kisses and laughter. On Saturdays he's not a tribe protector, or a wolf, he's just a teenager hanging out with his girlfriend. Sometimes Embry will stop by. He's been having a hard time since he phased – still going through the angry stage. Jacob wonders how many of them this is going to affect in the long run – Sam, Jared, Paul, Embry…and now Quil has been running a fever and they all know how that's going to end.

Jacob wipes these thoughts from his mind. Today is his normal day. Bella makes triple-decker sandwiches for lunch and they go for a walk along the beach if it's not too miserable out. In the afternoon it's back to the garage, and Edward comes over, usually bearing some new part for the Rabbit he's conjured out of nowhere. The boys will spend hours poring over the engines of their respective vehicles, and Bella will sigh, spreading out on the ratty couch in the garage and immersing herself in a novel. She's going through a Jane Austen phase.

She's got used to Edward being around, even though she has to admit it's an odd friendship. The rich white guy and the poor Native. It's an all too obvious comparison to make, simplifying them into a stereotype that she knows they would balk at. Yet it has some truth to it. She's never seen anyone wearing designer clothes to fix up cars before, and every week Edward and Jacob get filthy with oil and grease to the point that their clothes are practically irreparable. The difference is that she never sees Edward's dirty clothes make a reappearance, whereas Jake has to try to wash the stains out until his clothes are more hole than material.

She doesn't worry about Edward's intentions anymore though – whatever suspicions she had about his character have evaporated as the weeks have gone by and she's got to know him better. Often in the afternoons, Jacob has to go and check in with the pack, and then he makes some excuse to Edward, and leaves the two of them alone in the garage to talk. That first Saturday she must admit, she felt a little uncomfortable. She can still recall bits and pieces of their conversation:

_"Have you settled in now to Forks?"_

_ "Yes, I think so. It certainly helps, making friends with Jake. I've never been very good at forming friendships outside of my family."_

_ "You are pretty close to your family then?"_

_ "Oh yes, very. When you have the same background as we do, you tend to think the same way as each other. I couldn't ask for more loving parents in Esme and Carlisle, and my foster siblings are like real brothers and sisters to me. It's just that I've always felt a bit …different…from other people."_

_ "Is different bad?" Bella thinks of Jacob._

_ "It is when it keeps you separate from other people."_

_ "I don't understand that…I mean…you must know how freakishly good looking you are. You could pretty much click your fingers and have any girl in school drop at your feet."_

_ Edward smiles then, like there's a joke only he knows. _

_ "You know the saying that beauty is skin deep? I appreciate what you are saying about me, but if someone only likes the skin that you are in, then they never see what is inside."_

_ "Maybe they would if you gave them the chance?"_

_ "What if I'm not all that great inside, Bella? What if in getting to know me people would run away screaming?" Edward's mouth twists, as if he's in pain._

_ "Well, isn't that the chance we all take with each other, every day of our lives? That's the risk of friendship. Besides, sometimes what seems monstrous really isn't that bad at all."_

_Bella stops, feels like she has said too much, laughs uneasily._

_ "You want a soda?" She offers._

_ "Um…"_

_ "On you go, Jake's had like a whole pack to himself and you've not even had a drink."_

_Edward takes the can from her hesitantly, as if being careful not to let his fingers touch hers. _

_ "You notice everything, don't you, Bella?" He opens the can and takes a hesitant sip. Holds it for a while in his hands while they talk, then places it down on the tool box, mostly un-drunk. _

Today Edward arrives just before lunch, purring up the driveway in his Volvo.

"Hey Ed!" Jacob calls excitedly, gives Bella a kiss then jumps up to greet his friend. Edward holds up a silver box in the air in triumph.

"Wait till you see what I got. Christmas came early in the Cullen house."

"No way man, we're going to get ourselves ECU flashed! Just think of the torque gains."

"Ok, before you two start drooling, I'm going to go and make some sandwiches. What do you want, Edward?"

"Uh, I'm fine, I already ate." The two boys head out to the garage. Bella rolls her eyes. Back to _'Sense and Sensibility'_ then.

Twenty minutes later and Jacob's in, sniffing about for food. He stacks three sets of sandwiches on a plate, adds some pickles and chips and settles in front of the television to catch up with the sports.

"Coffee, Edward? Soda?"

"Uh, no thanks." He hovers, at the kitchen counter. "So, you're still reading Austen. What do you think of _Sense and Sensibility_?"

"Oh, I love it. Have you read it?"

"I've read all of Austen. I'm a big fan of period novels. So are you a Marianne or an Elinor sympathiser?"

"Uh…neither really. Isn't that sort of the point? They are two extremes – Marianne nearly dying from heartbreak and Elinor refusing to show her feelings about the man she's loved and lost. Neither seems that healthy to me."

"So you are not the type to waste away over lost love, then?"

"I certainly hope I never have to find out. But I could ask you the same question, except I can already guess the answer. You'd be sense and reason, through and through, right?"

Edward looks a little sad. "And Jake…he'd be sensibility, wouldn't he?"

"Probably. He…feels a lot." Bella admitted.

"I suppose you are right to an extent. I am like that…it takes a lot to move me, but when I do feel emotion, it may be hidden, but it can be very strong."

"I know…I'm sorry. I wasn't meaning to suggest you don't have feelings." Bella pauses, distressed. Are they still discussing Austen, or has this conversation got way off base?

"Yes! Did you see that?" Jacob hollers, pointing at the TV screen. He turns and realises nobody else is paying attention to the sports. "Are you talking about books?" He rolls his eyes and turns back to his lunch.

"Speaking of which, I have some Christmas presents in the car. Would you come get them with me?" Edward asks softly. They walk out to the Volvo.

"I hope you don't mind, I just saw a couple of things I thought you and Jake might like. You can open them just now if you like. This one is for you." Edward hands her an exquisitely wrapped parcel of brown paper and red ribbon with snowflake embossed sticky tape. "Sorry about the fancy wrap – my sister Alice gets a little carried away at Christmas. My own wrapping is not up to her high standards."

Bella opens the parcel to find three books: Dicken's 'Great Expectations,' Dante's 'La Vita Nuova and Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night.'

"Wow, thanks Edward." She turns to hug him, but he's stepped back, quicker than she would have thought possible. Her feelings of gratitude dissolve as she can't help but feel a little hurt.

"That's really good taste. I'm amazed." She turns back to examining the three volumes so that he won't see her blush. They are obviously antique copies, beautifully bound with silvered edges and embossed covers. They would all fit well on a bookshelf in an English country manor.

"This is for you and Jake" Edward hands her a small envelope. "It's a season ticket for the Deer Park cinema in Port Angeles."

"That's so thoughtful. Really. Thanks Edward. It'll sure beat whatever car-related stuff Jake's planning on giving you."

"Well, I thought it would be nice for you to have something you could enjoy doing by yourselves. After all, you have enough of your time together taken up with me hanging around."

"No, don't worry about that! Jake's over at my place every night during the week anyway. I can't complain that we don't get time to ourselves. Besides, other friends being around is healthy, right?" It's hard to convince anyone else of that obvious truth when she would quite gladly spend all day, every day with Jacob Black. She's never been one of those people who understood couples that spent every waking moment together. Saw it as obsessive, unhealthy.Now that she's in love with Jake, she's having to eat every single crumb of that particular humble pie.

"Hey Bella! Ed!" Jacob calls them from the house. "Sam called, He and Emily are coming over."

"I'm going to have to go now," Edward says quietly. "See you in school." He turns and waves. "Gotta go, Jake. My sister needs some help with stuff for Christmas." And with that, he's in the car and away before Jake can object.

Bella sidles over and puts her arm around Jacob's waist.

"Oh man, I was looking forward to Sam and Ed meeting," Jacob grumbles.

"Maybe he's just a bit shy. Anyway, how long before they arrive?" Bella has a gleam in her eye.

"About half an hour."

"I can think of plenty ways to fill half an hour." Jacob looks down at her and lets a low growl loose from his throat, picks her up and carries her into the house. Kicks open his bedroom door, lays her gently on the bed and kicks the door closed again. There she is, biting her lip, her brown hair fanned out upon his pillow _My pillow! _Jacob's head screams _My bed! _He can hear her heart race. _Bella Swan on my bed!_

How he _loves_ Saturdays.


	10. Inscriptions

Bella sits at twilight in her bedroom, in a chair facing the window. It's a Sunday, and Jacob's on patrol with Jared. As she sits quietly, with the books Edward has given her on her lap, she imagines the Quileute boys in wolf form, tearing through the forests. Above her, she can see the moon already in the sky as it changes from ice blue to golden yellow.

She opens the first book again at the page she has been reading. Dante's 'La Vita Nuova.' Edward has carefully underlined a passage:

"In that book which is my memory… On the first page that is the chapter when

I first met you, appear the words, 'Here begins a new life'."

It's a quote that for Dante, is incontrovertibly about his love for Beatrice. She wonders what Edward means by it. Could he be referring to his new life in Forks? She sighs, rubs her cold feet, tucks them underneath her legs. She might be convinced of that were it not for the other inscriptions. She turns to 'Great Expectations' a text she knows well, having studied it in school a couple of years back. She flicks through until she finds Edward's underlining:

"That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."

It's the same idea, she decides. One new day in his life that changed the course of everything. Is this something that has happened to Edward? She thinks of his comments in the garage – how he always seemed to be hiding something, scared of giving himself away, of getting too close to them…

Lastly, she picks up Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night.' Not the play she's most familiar with – it's the one with the twins, with one in disguise as a boy, right? The quote Edward has marked out is the oddest one of all to her:

"Oh Time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me t'untie!"

She shuts the book, looks out and sees the first star of night. Sadness for Edward creeps over her. Whatever has happened to him must be something truly awful. He seems so lonely. Are these books a cry for help? She shakes her head. It's not her problem. He has a family to talk to. He has Jake. _Yes, but he's given __**you**__ these books. It's __**you**__ he wants to figure him out. _She tries to ignore the voice in her head, briefly touches the dream catcher that Jake has given her and cuddles under the lilac bed sheets. She's not entirely stupid. Edward Cullen is an extremely attractive boy. She'd be lying to herself if she thought otherwise. Being around him, getting to know him – there was a connection there that unsettled her. _I have a boyfriend I love very much. _ She doesn't have to voice that thought because she needs to convince herself of her feelings for Jake – they are unshakeable – she just needs to understand why being madly in love doesn't stop her from being able to see other people. Or just one other person. Just Edward.

It feels better in some ways admitting it to herself. She remembers a conversation she'd once had with Renee not long after her Mom had met Phil.

_"There are lots of different people you can be with in life, honey. Not just one love. It's a choice. I've chosen someone who is right for me, who I can be myself with. There are millions of different types of love depending on who you choose to be with."_

She has chosen Jacob, and he has chosen her. Perhaps these feelings for Edward are just an echo of a love she could have felt for him, in another time and place.

_I've not done anything wrong. He's a friend, and he needs help._

With that final thought she slips into a slumber full of visions of wolves running through Jake's garage, the wind from their speed upon her face as they tear by.

The next morning is Bella's last day at school before the Christmas break. Since they finish up classes at lunchtime, she's eager to see Edward, who is her partner in Biology, and speak to him about the inscriptions before they break up for the holidays. It's a beautiful clear winter morning, a touch of frost glittering on all the normal objects on her street, making the world a fairyland. The sky is a sheet of blue and the sun is shining.

"Bright for December," Charlie comments, folding his newspaper. "You seeing Jake today?"

"Tonight. He's in school till later than me, so we'll make dinner as usual, something Christmassy?"

"Hmm," Charlie grumps. Lately he's been even more taciturn than usual on the subject of Jacob. Bella wonders if he's figured out from Billy that they are a couple now. She is out the house and down the path before she can make more excuses to herself about exactly why she hasn't yet told Charlie. _Soon. Before Christmas. I promise. _She _thinks _Charlie will be okay with it –after all, Billy is his oldest friend. It's just that Charlie is so protective – will she really have the same freedom to come and go as she pleases with Jacob when everyone knows they are together? She can't bear the thought of not seeing him as much as they do now – of having enforced curfews or chaperoned dates. She shudders.

At school, she's disappointed to find that Edward's not there. Again. He's always skipping school, but never seems to get into any trouble for it. Or have his grades slip. He's one of those annoyingly smart people who doesn't seem to have to work for it, or even pay that much attention in class. It's like he knows it all already.

She spends the morning in faux-festive cheer surrounded by tinselled classmates letting off party poppers in the cafeteria and ripping open cheap crackers to find those nasty paper crowns inside. Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley seem to have gotten it together on the last day under the mistletoe, and there's this frenzy of coupling going on around her. Bella really misses Jake.

Finally the bell goes, and as the tannoy system plays 'Deck the Halls' the students spill out into the car park, shouting festive wishes to one another. Bella pulls her fur lined parka round herself and wishes she had brought gloves. It's got really cold all of a sudden. She looks up at the sky to see the first snowflakes begin to fall. As she pulls out of the school to head home, a sudden thought grabs her: _Why doesn't she just go and see Edward? _ Excited, she does a three point turn and heads out of town on North Forks avenue. She _thinks_ she remembers the turn-off he told her led to his house. About 3 miles out of town, she finds it – very easy to miss and almost entirely obscured by trees – a single track road, now dusted with snow. Bella bumps down the track for what seems like miles, wipers on as the snow gets going in earnest, cursing to herself. _See what you are making me do, Edward Cullen? Why can't you just come to school like normal people? _ Finally, up ahead, she sees the glowing lights of an enormous glass fronted house. Triple garage, twinkling lights all over the roof. _Oh holy crap. _

"She's nearly here!" Alice sings happily, plumping cushions and twirling around the room. Jasper smiles as he selects some Christmas music to gently welcome their guest.

"I don't know what we're going to offer her to eat and drink. If we had a little more notice…" Esme sighs.

"Not my fault! Last minute decision." Alice protests.

Edward is standing in the middle of the room while everyone bustles around him. He looks horrified.

"But why is she here, Alice?"

"I don't know, Edward. Maybe you'll actually have to figure that out for yourself instead of just reading minds. Then at least you'll know how the rest of us live our lives." Alice chuckles, hugs him from behind. "Stop worrying. It'll be fine. I don't see her in any danger so long as we don't give her a crystal glass to drink from."

Edward does a double take. "Why? What will happen then?"

Alice leans in and whispers: "Jasper will try to eat her."

"Oh, no no no! You get out, all of you! I'll make sure she's in and out of here in under five minutes." Edward runs his hand through his hair.

"Edward, man. Chill. No need to stress. It's about time we met your little lady. We're not going to hurt her." Emmett shrugs.

"She's com-ing!" Alice trills.

"Quick, everyone, positions!" Esme claps. At vampire speed everyone moves into their 'happy normal family' montage. Carlisle and Esme strip half the Christmas tree and pretend to be trimming it. Rosalie lies on the couch with a magazine, looking bored. Emmett and Jasper pretend to be playing chess.

"I'm answering the door" Alice insists. Edward is frozen stock-still in the middle of the room. Alice tuts. "Oh Edward, go and play piano next door." She gives him a small shove, and as the doorbell chimes, this seems to propel him into motion.

"Hi Bella!"

The door opens and Bella sees a petite girl with short stylish hair, mischievous eyes and an infectious grin. She's wearing an ivory waistcoat over a denim shirt and skinny trousers and looks like she's stepped out of the pages of Vogue magazine.

"Hi!"

"I'm Alice. Come on in. You must be here to see Edward." Alice ushers her inside. "May I take your jacket? You must be freezing. Come on in, the fire's on and the family is all here. We've heard so much about you, they're all dying to meet you."

_Oh God. _Bella's mind has gone blank. _New people. _She steps into the cavernous space – it's so clean, and light, like a museum or gallery, filled with sculptures and paintings. Alice leads the way into the family room, glass everywhere, Christmas music playing, an enormous Nordman fir in the corner being decorated with delicate glass baubles. The fire spitting away and everything smelling of cinnamon.

"Hi Bella, welcome. I'm Esme, and this is my husband, Carlisle." A striking woman with perfectly curled hair, wearing a pale gold twinset steps forward, smiling warmly. _She's so young. _And Carlisle, with his swept back blonde hair, can't be any more than early thirties. _They let them adopt all these kids?_

"Hey Bella. I'm Emmett, and this is Jasper." Bella looks at the great big bear of a man stretched out on the floor, then takes in the extremely handsome blonde fellow beside him. _Is this for real? They are all so beautiful. Pale skin. Golden eyes. You would swear they were related._ _Do the Cullens only adopt incredibly gorgeous children with golden eyes? _

"Rose you already know." Emmett grins.

"Hey." Rosalie barely looks up from her magazine, gives a lazy wave.

"Edward is next door, playing the piano." Alice tugs her hand. Bella gasps. It's ice cold.

"Oops," Alice giggles. "Sorry."

Everyone has gone silent for a moment, but she can hear the buzz of conversation begin again as she leaves the room, and Alice smiles apologetically, shutting the door behind her as she goes. _Way to bet they are talking about me. Great. Just great._

Edward has his back to her and he's seated at a black baby grand. His blue button down shirt is rolled up to play. Despite the evident commotion Bella has caused, he doesn't appear to notice she is there. He's lost in his own world. Bella leans back on the wall and listens. The music is lilting: rising and falling, speaking of an intense longing. Her mouth feels dry, her throat filled with agony. She waits, and minutes pass with trembling fingers while tears mark small rivers down her cheeks. Such absolute and pure beauty.

Finally Edward lets the last note fall and echo around the room, and only then does he turn to look at her, with no surprise upon his face. He must have known the whole time she was there.

"I'm sorry" she rubs her eyes. "I'm such a sap. That was amazing, Edward. What is that you were playing?"

"It's a piece I wrote." Edward looks at her. His eyes seem darker than usual and there is slight bruising under them, as if he hasn't slept in a while.

"You _wrote _that? I had no idea…"

For a moment they just look at each other.

"I'm sorry, You are probably wondering why I am here. And your family getting ready for Christmas, and all. I really didn't mean to disturb. It's just you weren't in school today, and I wanted to get the chance to talk to you before the holidays."

"You are not disturbing anyone, Bella. I'm sure my family are glad of the distraction. It's an honor having you here. If you'd like to talk, we could maybe, talk upstairs, though?" Edward smiles at her then, a real smile. "It's really good to see you Bella. I wasn't expecting to see you now till after New Year. Come on, I'll show you around."

Edward takes her through the rest of the house – an immaculate kitchen that looks like it's never been used; a staircase with a quirky collection of graduation caps; several obviously expensive Chinese vases on pillars; a large canvas of imposing Italianate figures in Carlisle's study.

"This is my room," Edward looks almost apologetic. _As if he's apologising for his own existence. As if he's worried that none of this will be good enough for anyone. _He lets her wander around the glass-walled room: window open to hear bird-song; floating shelves full of old and beautiful volumes just like the ones he gave her for Christmas; stacks of CD cases of everything from classical to jazz, from rock to musicals. She picks up a CD: 'Greatest Hits of the Musicals.' If Embry and Quil saw Jake with an album like this he'd be castrated.

"You like Les Mis?" Bella smiles.

"Oh yes. And Phantom. Definitely Phantom."

"The man in the mask," Bella gestures to one side of her face.

"The lonesome gargoyle who burns in hell but secretly yearns for heaven." Edward quotes.

"You have some memory, no wonder you find school so effortless." Bella pauses, casts her eyes down. "Actually, that's sort of why I'm here."

"Because of my memory? I doubt you need help with school, Bella. You are one of the smartest people I know."

"No," Bella replies gently. "Because of your quoting. The…books…you gave me? The passages you underlined?"

"Oh." Edward sinks down onto a leather settee. Bella wonders briefly if this is where he sleeps. Come to think of it, she hasn't noticed any bedrooms in the house at all. Weird.

"Don't feel bad. I'm here to talk…if you want to."

"What about?"

"The quotes. I can see what you are trying to do. You push everyone else away. You have so many secrets. I don't know why you hate yourself so much, but isn't it time you confided in someone? Isn't that why you gave me these books and underlined those words?"

Edward can see now. She doesn't know. She knows nothing. She has not connected yet that all three books are about unrequited love. She doesn't understand that the day he met her started off a chain reaction that ended up with him loving her: totally and absolutely with no way out. This is his hell. To have fallen in love with a mortal and to have to watch her love another man. To live with another man. Marry him. Have his children. Grow old and die. And he can't even hate Jacob Black, because Jacob Black deserves her, can protect her, is one of the purest souls he has ever encountered. Is his friend.

He puts his hand over his face and laughs. He has no ability to cry tears, like humans do.

"I do have secrets, Bella. I can only hope that when you find them out you won't hate me too much. Bella…will you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"I'm going to speak to Jake about…all this. And chances are he won't listen to me, and he'll be angry-"

"I doubt that-"

"Believe me, he will. And it'll be up to you to make him listen, Bella. Will you tell him? Tell him that I'm not like the other bad ones he's heard about. That – I'm on a special diet?"

"Edward, that's really weird." Bella shakes her head. "You won't talk about this with me?"

"Not here. Not right now with my family around. But once I've spoken to Jake, you can come and speak to me any time and I'll tell you everything you want to know. I promise." Edward has stood up, moved closer, so that he's almost touching her. Bella carefully reaches out her hand, lets her palm slowly descend onto Edward's arm. He flinches. She gasps. He's as cold as Alice.

"Can I ask you just one thing?" Bella says, determined.

"Maybe."

"Do you know something about Jake that other people don't?"

Edward looks into her eyes.

"Yes. Yes I do."

"Oh my God" Bella's mind is spinning. She was right. She was right all along. He knows. He knows everything.

"You have to know, Bella, that I regard that secret as being as dear to me as my life itself." His eyes are so intense, his words seem so true. She has to sit down then, otherwise she's going to fall.

"Edward! We got some ice-cream. Would you and Bella like to come down?" Esme's voice calls proudly from downstairs.

"Sorry, she's just leaving." Edward calls back. They lock eyes again.

Bella doesn't say anything, just stands up and walks out the room, and down the stairs. Esme and Alice meet her in the hallway with optimistic faces. There's chat about how lovely it's been, and how she must come back soon, and how nice it is to meet Edward's school friends. Then she's outside in the cold, crunching towards the truck, the lights from the Cullen's roof casting twinkling shadows on the settled snow.

Inside the truck, Bella puts her forehead on the steering wheel. She's got to see Jacob. Now. Just drive. But as usual the windscreen has frozen over and she must wait for the warm air to clear it away. As she sits there, Bella finds that her hand is resting on a book on the passenger seat. It's the copy of 'Twelfth Night' that Edward has given her. She turns again to read the inscription inside:

"Oh Time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me t'untie!"

She snorts. _Yeah, you can say that again. _


	11. Into the Woods

Christmas has come and gone, and the New Year rolled itself around. Bella spent Christmas in a haze of Jake, delighted with the hand carved wolf bracelet he had made for her and somewhat abashed that she'd given him something so practical as a pile of new black tees and an account set up at Whitehead's Auto Parts - which Charlie has generously added to. In the early days of January, Jake calls her up and finally persuades her to go along to Edward's swing dance class. Truth be told, it is the opportunity to get Jacob and Edward in the same place that Bella has been looking for, and she might have seemed oddly easy to convince to go dancing again. The visit to the Cullen's house has been hanging over her the past couple of weeks, and even Jacob has sensed that something isn't quite right. Bella feels so guilty - the last thing she wants to do is keep secrets from Jacob, but she owes it to Edward to at least give him the chance to speak to him first. _Please let my instincts be right about Edward. Please let him be telling the truth about keeping Jacob's secret. _

"Jake! Bella!" Edward comes to the door, still wearing his outside gear: polar fleece, Fair Isle beanie hat and thick gloves. He shakes Jake's hand and pats him on the back. It's an unusual gesture for Edward, as he's usually so hands off. _Oh, the gloves. The cold skin. _Bella gives him a hesitant smile, but finds no hint of unease in his posture. He's obviously delighted to see them.

"Hey, thanks for the new tool box…and the cologne." Edward smirks.

"Oh, that was from Bella," Jacob explains, his face reddening slightly. Bella raises an eyebrow. _No it wasn't. _

As Edward saunters away to get class set up, Jacob finds Embry and Quil, arguing in a corner. Bella's relieved to see Quil out and about, looking perfectly au fait with the fact that he is now part-wolf.

"She's not that hot. I never said she was. That's a total exaggeration." Embry is scowling at Quil.

"What are you two busting each other up for now?" Bella sits down beside them to

watch the show. Those two crack her up.

"Embry here is trying to pretend that he never had the hots for Miss Stinky-Rose over there." Quil points over to where Rosalie is sitting down, putting on her dance shoes, looking effortlessly stunning as always in a yellow wrap-over dress with blue roses printed on.

"Sure, Embry. We believe you," Jacob grins.

"What's up with Rosalie? I don't get it. You were all over her before-" Bella is about to say 'before you phased' but stops herself.

"Well she just smells really bad. They both do. Like something that's way too sweet and makes you want to choke." Quil sticks his tongue out to demonstrate.

"They've always smelled like that. They obviously can't help it. Sometimes people just come from a smelly home. They are foster kids and all." Jacob shrugs.

"Don't know how you deal with hanging around with that Edward dude, though." Embry frowns.

"You just get used to it," Jacob shrugs. "He's a cool guy."

"He's your girlfriend!" Quil puts on a high-pitched voice and makes kissy kissy sounds.

"-Wait-wait-wait." Bella cuts in. "What is this all _about_? Rosalie smells fine to me, Edward smells fine to me and they do not have a skanky house. Their house is spotless, it's about the cleanest place I've ever seen. So stop buying him Calvin Klein 'Obsession.' It's Just. Weird."

Everyone is staring at Bella. In the background Christina Aguilera's 'Candy Man' starts to play.

"When have you been at Edward's house?" Jacob asks.

_Oh crap. _

"Just before Christmas." Bella tries to sound nonchalant. Knowing her, probably fails miserably. Feels her face start to redden.

"Come on up, everyone, grab a partner. Tonight we're going to swing the night away with some new moves. Come and show them, Edward!" Rosalie beams as Edward takes the stage with her. Jacob holds her hand tightly, leads her over to the dance floor. He seems unsure of himself.

"Jake. Tonight let's go home and tell Charlie," Bella looks up into his eyes, tries to show him all the love she feels in her heart, gives him her most reassuring smile.

"Really? Tonight?" Jake sounds grim. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Christmas was impossible. But I don't want to wait any longer. I want him to know how I feel about you."

Jacob's heart leaps in his chest. It's another small milestone. He grins.

"Ok, Bells. So long as you give me a head start to run when he starts shooting."

After learning to group Charleston to 'Sing Sing Sing' which is awesome, though Bella can't keep up, and then actually getting to flip Bella over his back (she screamed – hilarious) and a nice slow song to finish- Bella says it is 'Lost' by Michael Bublé (these slow ones all sound the same to Jake, but he gets to wrap his arms round Bella and hold her close and hear her sigh on his shoulder so that is just dandy.) Well, after all that they go home to Charlie to face the real music.

Jacob and Bella are out in the yard when her mobile rings.

"Hold on, Jake, it's in the kitchen," She untangles herself reluctantly from his embrace. Her ringtone is sounding louder and louder. It's probably Charlie.

"Bella, it's Alice."

"Hi!" Bella shakes her head, frowns in surprise. Edward's sister?

"Bella, I know this sounds really strange, but you and Jake need to get out of there right now. You are about to be attacked."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Just go, Bella, _please._"

Bella walks back out of the house, phone in hand.

"Well, that was really weird." She feels sick to her stomach. Is this something to do with Edward?

_Oh God._

He's there, in the corner of the yard, walking towards them with his expression grim, face set and determined. White face, golden eyes, cold skin. He's never looked less human.

"No, Edward!" She puts her hands up, grabs Jake.

"Ed?" Jake looks concerned. "Are you okay?"

"You need to get out of here" Edward demands. "They are coming. I can hear them. Take Bella and run, Jake. Phase and get her on your back. There's no time."

Jake's jaw is set. "You know?" He turns to Bella and his expression speaks of devastation and total betrayal. "How could you tell him, Bella?"

"No, Jake! I didn't. It's not like that!"

"It's too late. They are here." Edward hisses. He turns his back on Jacob and Bella, stands in front of them, arms spread wide in protection. The trees crack, darkness seems to shiver. The world hisses and explodes. The ground rises up to welcome Bella as she is pushed by unseen hands. Sideways, she sees a blur of figures: white skin, black skin, red fur, red hair, golden eyes, blood red eyes. She is snatched into the air by a flame haired Goddess who looks her coolly in the eyes, bares her teeth, snarls. The black hole hits her again as she is thrust backwards. A springing wolf. She tilts her head to see Edward with his teeth around a neck, ripping it open, cracking it like stone. _Vampire. _A hissing. Red hair and an ungodly scream. A russet wolf ripping off a dark leg. An eye like a child's marble rolling across the grass towards her, red and glassy. Then flames. Burning in the woods. Burning with a sweet choking smoke.

"Jake?" she stumbles weakly to her feet, is surprised to find that she still has arms, legs, that her heart is still beating in her chest. She's all alone. "Jake!" she screams, picks herself up, makes herself run into the forest, swept towards the burning. _I'm not going to let you go. _She approaches the pyre – sees the remnants of what looks like tangled limbs in the flames. White and black skin but no brown.

"Bella?" He's there, on the ground, naked and bleeding. She flies to help him.

"She got away." His face is twisted in pain. "I couldn't catch her. It's like she's made of soap, she's so slippery."

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"A little. A broken rib or two." Bella watches, amazed, as before her eyes the wound Jake is holding stops bleeding, begins to knit together as a rough pink wound.

"Where's Edward?" Bella looks again at the pyre. The white skin has gone, turned to ash. She falls to her knees.

"He's gone, Bella. I told him to go." Jake's agony is gone, replaced by anger. "He's one of them. A vampire, Bella. A cold one. How could I never see it?"

"I'm sure he's not on their side. He-he just fought with you, right?"

"It doesn't matter, Bella. Don't you understand? He's a vampire! He's what I was born to kill."

Bella tries to remember, tries to get it right. "He said…he said to tell you, that he's not like the others…that he doesn't eat the way they do. Is he saying – I think he's saying – that he doesn't drink blood, Jake."

"You think that makes a difference Bella? Why do you think we've been phasing left right and centre lately? This is my fault! I let him in! I let the damn leech right into the reservation, with my family, with _you_!" Jake grabs a fist of his own hair and kicks a nearby tree trunk. It slices in two as if hit by an axe. Then he pulls Bella from the ground, looks deep into her eyes as if searching for the answer to a question he really doesn't want to ask.

"You know what the worst part is?" Jacob growls. "You knew. You could have told me, and you didn't Bella. I thought I could trust you with anything." He looks at her for a long moment, then releases her. Bella gasps for air.

"Charlie's here. We'd better go out before he finds us standing beside a vampire pyre." Jake's voice is monotone.

"But Jake, you're naked. He can't see you like this." Bella quickly unbuttons her shirt and hands it to Jake. "At least cover up your wound…and your bits."

_Any other circumstance when I would be standing out here naked in the woods with Bella Swan taking her top off, _Jake thinks._ Any other time but now. Fate certainly has a sense of humor. _

They walk slowly out of the woods to where Charlie Swan is waiting with a loaded gun.


	12. Teenage Girls

Charlie comes home after a day of sorting out a neighbourly dispute that involves door graffiti and window smashing. Hangs up the cruiser keys. Gun in the cabinet, ammo separate in a locked drawer. The house is full of the smell of caramelised sugar and peaches. Bella's made dinner again.

It's not that he's having a hard time adjusting, Charlie reasons with himself, spooning cream pie into his mouth straight from the pie tin. Bella's the same, sweet little girl she always was, bending over backwards to please others. He used to see it with Renee all the time when he visited. The sigh: "okay, Mom." The way she looked at him, or rather didn't look – a sideways glance as if to say _am I doing this right? _He remembers the first time he realised she called him Charlie behind his back, instead of Dad. Copying Renee of course, but still it smarted.

They had told him all about it: Harry, Billy...Teenage girls. They would hog the showers; cake their faces in make-up and wear too-short skirts to school and too-tight tops out on dates on a Friday night. They would beg to borrow his car, spend hours on the telephone, giggle, cry with no prior warning. Charlie had listened, taking it all with a pinch of salt. He had not seen much of this behaviour from Bella in the last few years since she had become a teenager. Then again, he'd not see her much, thanks to Renee's busy schedule and annoying lack of willpower to stand on her own two feet and let Bella leave her on a plane to Washington.

Now here she is living with him in easy companionship. Sitting cross-legged on the floor with her nose in one of those c19th novels she will read and re-read. Happy to exist quietly beside each other, - he watching the Mariners game, she wrapped snugly in a checked shirt and pyjama bottoms. The penchant for checked shirts is a definite Charlie trait.

"So, not seeing Jacob tonight?" Charlie pulls at his moustache. It needs a trim.

Bella and Jacob are pretty much inseparable these days. He's been the perfect friend to help her settle in to Forks - practically family anyways. Charlie can see that young Jake has a crush on his daughter and he and Billy rib them both about it mercilessly. The way he follows her about like a lost puppy. Constantly yabbers on the phone to her. About nothing so far as he can see.

...

Charlie comes home late. Hangs up the cruiser keys. Gun in the cabinet, ammo separate in a locked drawer. Bella's light is on and she's in bed as he pops his head in to say goodnight. Her face is even paler than usual and tear-stained.

"How was your night at Billy's?" he asks. Ignore the crying, he tells himself. She hates having to explain herself. He can relate to that sentiment.

"…Fine."

Ah, the teenage catch-all phrase that means 'Not fine but I'm not telling you.' Her face has a story to tell of its own, like she is deep in thought about an experience that has shifted her world. Heck.

His cop's instinct itches at him till he picks up the phone to Billy, but when he does, it rings out. Strange.

Next morning she heads out at first light to La Push.

...

Charlie comes home for dinner. Hangs up the cruiser keys. Gun in the cabinet, ammo separate in a locked drawer. Looks around the living room to see it awash with black hair. He catches a piece as it drifts through the air. What the hell.

"Bella?" he calls.

...

Charlie comes home to hear the sound of laughter in his living room. Hangs up the cruiser keys. Gun in the cabinet, ammo separate in a locked drawer. Walks in to the living room (now hoovered) to find his daughter lying on the couch with a boy. Tangled around him, to be more exact. Charlie nearly retraces his steps to fetch his rifle until he realises that the short haired muscled boy wearing the sleeveless black top is his daughter's younger best friend.

"Huh."

Bella lets go of Jake's hand at the sound of her dad's voice.

"Hi Dad. Chicken pie in the oven for tea. Jake's staying too."

"Hey Charlie," Jake waves lazily. "Catch any bad guys today?"

"Not. Yet." Charlie mutters, making his way to the kitchen in search of the aforementioned pie.

"Cold beer in the fridge." Bella calls through. Charlie reaches into the refrigerator for a Rainier, plugs it open, stands and looks back at Jake's hairy legs hanging off the end of his couch.

"O-kay."

...

Charlie comes home just in time to see a motorbike cruise past with his daughter waving from the back. She's wearing a helmet, thank god, but that doesn't stop him nearly putting on the siren and running down Jacob Black, even if he is the son of his best friend. Charlie shakes his head, goes inside. Hangs up the cruiser keys. Gun in the cabinet – though his fingers twitch a bit – ammo separate in a locked drawer.

Bella's note reads: _Gone to First Beach for a Camp-fire. Back later but not too late. Love you, Bella. X _

Charlie sits down on the couch, rubs his face and looks at those last few words.

...

Charlie comes home late. Jake and Bella are sitting at the kitchen table poring over homework. Good.

He hangs up the cruiser keys. Gun in the cabinet, ammo separate in a locked drawer. Gets a beer out the fridge and some leftover cheesy pasta bake. Pours over ketchup. Bella is trying to explain to Jake the difference between onomatopoeia and assonance:

"Bang – pop – soft-ly. Sounds like it is. Get it?"

"My ass-onance needs some work, Bella."

"Lazy ass, more like it."

"Cheeky girl."

Charlie slams the fridge. They both look up.

"That's new" Charlie comments. Jake has a large and intricate black tattoo on his upper arm.

"Uh..yeah."

"It's Jake's tribal tattoo, Dad. He got it last night at the campfire."

"Swell." _You getting a matching one? _He now has wild visions of Bella, tattooed, on a motorbike, driving off to God-knows-where with this boy-man who looks about five years older than her and who all of a sudden has taken over sweet innocent little Jacob Black's body.

...

Charlie comes home after a day of endless paperwork and local politics. Hangs up the cruiser keys. Gun in the cabinet, ammo separate in a locked drawer.

The night is dry and the moon is out so Charlie hits the lights in the yard, takes a beer and heads out back. On the way he sees what looks like- and is- shredded material scattered on the grass. He reaches down and picks up a piece of black denim and some dark cotton. There's hundreds of little pieces everywhere, like confetti. Charlie can't quite make any connections as to what they would be doing there.

Then he hears voices from the trees, and Bella and Jake appear. She's only wearing a bra on top and he's butt naked except for Bella's shirt which he is using to cover his modesty. Charlie turns around, walks back into the house. Finds the key to the locked drawer. Unlocks it. Grabs some ammo. Fetches his rifle from the cabinet.

And starts loading.


	13. Explanations

Charlie Swan has broken the law three times in his life: First, when he was seven and stole a candy bar when dared by spotty-nosed James Van Helson; Second, when he smoked marijuana in the 80's with his fishing buddies, cocking a snoot to Reagan's regime; Third when he accidentally shot an elk in the Olympic State park. None of these misdemeanors ever became public enough to make him lose face as the upstanding Forks chief of police.

Today, he is sorely tempted to change his reputation.

He lowers the gun that he has trained upon his best friend's nearly naked son. Heaves a sigh. Glowers under his eyebrows.

"Bella. Inside. _You, _get some clothes on and get on home. I'll deal with _You_ later." He watches Jacob try to cover himself up with Bella's t-shirt. The boy has muscles like no kid his age Charlie has ever seen. _Just. Great._

Partly to his surprise, Bella walks past him quietly into the house. No sass. Not even a glance at lover-boy. As she brushes past him, Charlie averts his eyes, but he can see that she is shaking. Badly. This is worse than he had thought.

He lets the door slam leaving Jacob Black outside. Lays his gun on the hall table. He may have need of it tonight.

"Bella, did he hurt you?"

Bella is sitting on the couch, a fresh shirt on, knees to her chest, looking paler than he has ever seen before.

"No, of course not Dad. Look I know this looks really bad-"

"Darn tooting it does. Now are you going to talk to me, or am I going to call your Mom?"

"Don't bring Mom into this. Please."

"Look, Bella, I'm not stupid. I know you are old enough now to have a boyfriend. I guess I'm not even upset that it's Jake." Charlie sits down on the chair opposite her, looks at the water stains on the ceiling. Feels the red rage ebb away.

"Well, that's good, at least. I was planning to tell you about us tonight, if that makes any difference."

"Bells…I love you honey…It's just, there's a way to go about doing things you know…and shacking up in the woods isn't one of them."

"Dad, it's really not as bad as you think…"

"Oh, so you were just gathering firewood out there with no clothes on? Give your old man some credit. And tell me, what am I supposed to say to Billy after all this?"

"Are you going to stop me seeing him, Dad?" Bella's eyes are a cocktail of fear and pain. "Because I really don't think I could handle that."

Charlie shakes his head. God, moments like this he really wishes Renee were here. "I need to know I can trust you to make the right decisions. I thought I could…I really dropped the ball on this one."

"You _can _trust me."

Charlie blows out his cheeks. "After tonight you should be on a one way ticket to Florida. I don't know Bella, I need some time to think about this one. Talk to Billy… and your Mom.

"Great." Bella's mouth twists.

A few days later, Jacob Black is running, four paws style through the Olympic National Park, under giant frozen icicle shaped trees casting their long blue shadows on the crisp powdery snow. The wolf sensations comforting him in a haze of _wet_ _moss_, _frozen bark, dying animal in burrow, bird song high in the wintry air. _

He's in the mood for something to kill. Preferably a Cullen. _Those leeches. Slithering their way into Bella's trust. It's their fault. Love to get my teeth around his throat…_

Jacob pictures it then, feels what it would be like to snap Edward's stone throat with his teeth. Winces to himself, and slows to a trot. It should be just like killing those other vampires who were threatening Bella. It should be, but it's not.

_Damn. You let the fox into the chicken coop and he stayed there long enough to befriend the chickens. _

Jacob thinks about those days in the garage with his quiet friend. He could almost, _almost _forgive Edward's secret if it wasn't for Bella. After all, she was right about one thing: the Cullens were not blood drinkers. At least, no more than he was. Sam and the pack had been watching the Cullen house these past couple of days, following the vampires to see where they went and what they did, weighing up whether to destroy them, reason with them, or run them out of town. _Not sure which side I fall on yet, but at least Edward told Bella the truth about that one: They hunt animals. Not that it makes a bit of difference to me._

Jacob picks up the scent then of a pair of chipmunks, foraging for mushrooms. The wolf in him sets off eagerly after them, shutting down his conscious human mind for a while. Wherever his human heart goes when he phases, he is grateful. In his wolf form, there are no tears available. He lets himself wander, leaving paw prints in the fresh snow, breathing in the hidden smells of foliage and animal. For a while, content.

"_Jake."_

The voice of his Alpha calls him from miles back, but still clear in Jake's mind. For a moment he considers ignoring it, but there's too much going down to consider that.

"_What's up Sam?"_

"_Bella. Think you should know about it. Want to come back?"_ Sam's wolf voice is calm, unhurried. Not an emergency exactly then, but Jacob can't help his wolf heart from thumping hard as adrenaline sears through him from tip to tail, 100 beats per minute.

"_You bet."_

He reaches for her then, just as hard as he's been trying to block her out. Turns his nose towards Forks and increases his speed. Images of Bella intrude into his mind, pushing back the instincts of the wolf: Bella's tender eyes as she stood over him when he first phased; a nervous swing dance together with his palms caressing the curve of her skin; the feeling of scissors creating chills on the back of his neck; their first tender, burning kiss; her laughter on a Saturday morning rolling her eyes at something dumb he'd said.

_Should have known it was too good to last. Jake and Bells. After all this time. Never never been so damn happy. Maybe I should have told her about the imprint. Maybe she'd have some answers. Suppose it was the only reason she was with me. Not love, just weird wolfish genetics…though, it's something at least, isn't it? That she's my mate. But how can the mate of a wolf side with a vampire, keep his secrets, defend him, cry over him? _

Jacob recalls the stricken look on her face when she looked at the burning pyre. Who was she looking for – him or Edward?

He stops then, howls piteously and shakes his fur. He has two hearts. His human heart is slower, but broken, and so better to trust his wolf heart.

Bella stands in Forks cemetery. Folding and unfolding the small piece of paper in her hand. The sky above is a sheet of tin, snowflakes tumbling down. Like a child, she sticks out her tongue and catches one, feels the cold melt on her warm tongue.

"You're here."

Edward is standing beside a crumbling grey headstone. He almost melts into the scene, with his ice pale skin and grey wool coat.

"I am. Though…graveyard, huh? Bit ironic don't you think?"

Bella puts the note she had found from Edward on the dashboard of her truck into the back pocket of her jeans.

He shrugs. "Just trying to find a quiet public place."

"You won't be occupying any of the coffins today, then?"

Edward smiles to himself at that. "You read too many books."

"Of _course _I do. Though I don't seem to recall any vampires trying to kill anyone in Austen's novels."

Bella moves slowly towards him until she's standing close. She'll admit she's curious. It's the first time she's seen him for who he really is. Looks up at him. Thinks about what she saw when the other vampires attacked. His teeth. His strength. His speed.

Edward looks back at her quietly, his golden eyes searching.

"I wish I could know what you are thinking," he says.

Bella shrugs. "I'm thinking a lot of different things. About who the monsters are. About appearances and reality. About you and Jacob."

"Any conclusions?"

"I'm the one here for answers, Edward." Bella reminds him gently.

Edward rubs his hand along the top of the gravestone, plays with the snow that is lying there.

"What would you like to know first?"

"Why did you become friends with us? That's the one that's kept me awake half the night."

"You've not been sleeping?"

"Not much. Every time I close my eyes I see vampires and wolves." Bella smiles wryly.

"I'm sorry." Edward pauses. "That wasn't what I thought you would ask first. Could you start with an easier question?"

"No."

"Then, I need to tell you a little about us. About the Cullens."

Edward tells her about his family. Their histories, how they chose to be a family and live a life without human blood, and most especially about Alice – her special gift and how it had helped them so much. How it had warned them that vampires were going to attack Bella and Jacob.

All the time the snow falls and Bella shivers.

"Alice saw you about a year ago. She kept having nightmare visions where we were destroyed. Carlisle. Esme. Jasper. Alice. Rosalie, Emmett. Me. Her. Broken, smashed, dust. Over and over again. It was terrible for her, and there was nothing we could do to help – she would just cower in a corner and tremble as she lived it. Then gradually her visions began to change: a dark haired girl appeared to protect us. Each time Alice saw the future, the girl would be there. And I would be standing by her side. If the girl was there, we would survive. If she was not, we would perish."

Bella shakes her head. "It can't be me. How could I possibly protect a family of vampires? Edward, I'm not exactly strong even by human standards. I can barely walk the length of the street without falling over."

Edward smiles gently. "Yes, I've noticed."

"Well what am I supposed to do? Trip over the enemies ankles? Fall in front of them just as they are about to attack? She's wrong, Edward. Surely you must see that after the other night?"

"All I know is that Alice is very rarely incorrect, and only if the path of someone else's decisions changes. And that's the answer to your question: I became friends with Jacob to become friends with you, in order to keep you close so that you might save my family." Edward reaches down and scoops up a snowball, casually flings it into the air so that it hits a tree on the other side of the graveyard and gently loosens the snow from its branches.

"I would say it's far-fetched, but after the last few months of my life, my perspective on normal has somewhat altered."

"You have to know, Bella, that my friendship with you and Jacob was at first borne out of necessity. Yet it didn't stay that way for long. I do genuinely care about you both. It's not just self-preservation." Edward looks so sincere that Bella wants to believe him. Almost.

"Jake wants to kill you now, you know...If you thought that you'd be safer around us with a group of killer vampires trying to get you then you're mistaken. The wolves will hunt you. And I can't protect you from vampires AND wolves." Bella is surprised to find herself laughing crazily.

"I was afraid he'd be angry." Edward looks up at the sky as if trying to find an answer there.

"He feels betrayed by you, and by me. He's not even speaking to me just now, and if he knew I was here with you it would make things even worse. He's a wolf, Edward. He said as much himself – that you are natural enemies. Besides, he thought you were his friend."

"I am his friend. I want to be."

"He'll never trust you now. I don't think he'll even trust me again, and that's more complicated than you could possibly know. The best thing you could do right now is leave Forks." Bella thinks about the unseen bond of love between her and Jake, the pain she's been in – actual, physical pain – the last few days that they've been apart. Even now she feels strangely tugged, to the south of the graveyard, towards La Push. Bella feels tears start to threaten behind her eyelids, doesn't trust her voice to continue.

"We can't leave without you Bella. And the female vampire might return. Her name is Victoria, and we killed her mate, James. She's bound to come looking for revenge. Am I just supposed to leave you unprotected?"

Bella starts then, glares at Edward. "Now who is protecting who, Edward? Is it me protecting you, or you protecting me? You can't have it both ways. And there's no way I can just leave town with a bunch of vampires. This is my home. I don't even think it would be possible for Jake and I to be apart. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I don't think I _could_ leave."

"The imprint."

"What?" Bella furrows her brow.

"The bond that wolves have with their mates. We find it fascinating. One of the many unusual things about the pack. It's what is stopping you from ever leaving him. No matter what Jake does, even if he rips apart your entire family, you'd still be tied to him…you must have had some idea, Bella… he should have been more honest with you."

The graveyard begins to spin, and before she knows it she's on her bottom in the snow and Edward is holding her. She feels like she's going to throw up. _The imprint? _Images tumble through Bella's mind. Yes, it's a word she's heard once before, said jokingly by Embry - she can't even remember the context - but she recalls that Jacob had given him a fierce look in reply, as if to shut him up. _Imprint. _She thinks of Sam and his partner Emily, who she has met several times. Thinks of the night when Jake phased for the first time and she was there, felt that change between them. _Imprint._ She had thought, later, that it was love.

Bella realises she is sitting on the snow, weeping uncontrollably in Edward's cold arms. His hands are stroking her hair and back very very gently. It's a temptation to let herself sink then, to stop fighting. What's the point anyway?

"I didn't know. I didn't know. I just want to be normal." Bella lets herself cry for a few moments.

Finally she realises that Edward's lips are pressing against her hand, which he is holding. She's been so absorbed in this latest revelation that she didn't notice his touch. Bella sits up, removes her hand and wipes her eyes. Stands up then pulls herself together.

"I'm just a human. I can't do all this. I can't help your family, Edward. You will just have to sort this mess out without me, but I suggest you leave town. I've had enough of it all. You talk about honesty, but you should have been more honest with all of us. I'm going home, Charlie will be wondering where I am."

Edward nods his assent, glides silently beside Bella as she makes her way gingerly across the icy graveyard and into her red truck, which is even now gathering snow on the roof. Waits until she's gunned the engine and pulled out from a patch of ice, then quicker than the eye can follow is in the driver's seat of his Volvo and following down the road after her.

The russet wolf edges out from the bushes to the south end of the field and stands in the graveyard where moments before Bella and Edward had been talking. His fur begins to bristle then his image swells and shatters into a curled ball of naked flesh. Jacob Black shakes himself and pulls on a pair of dark denim shorts. He stands up, warm yet grim as the snowflakes tumble ever thicker from the heavens. He goes to sit where Bella had fallen to the ground, as if by occupying the space she has just left he can be closer to her. He imagines he can still smell her, faintly behind the sweet vampire stink.

Then he's alone in his thoughts, lost from view in a January snowstorm.


	14. A Prior Claim

It's 4am and Bella can't sleep. Every time she closes her eyes she sees pale skin, red eyes and amber hair. Flying for her throat. The only safe thing to do is to stay awake, keep the light on and pull the purple duvet cover up to her chin. She's been up and down all night: to the kitchen to make toast and hot milk with honey; to the bathroom to sit, head in hands and feel sick; to watch bad re-runs on TV until her eyelids start to droop. But every time she's allowed herself to relax and sleep to beckon its little finger, she's jerked upright imagining that Victoria is coming for her.

A tree branch scrapes against her window. Wind howls and shakes snow from the grey marbled sky. The plumbing gurgles mysteriously. Bella contemplates waking Charlie. Anything except for being alone right now. Then again, what would she say? _Hey, Dad. You know the Cullens? They're vampires, and because I've been hanging out with Edward Cullen and Jake (who is a wolf, by the way) I've made some other bad vampires interested enough in me to want to kill me. Finding it a bit hard to sleep right now._

Bella turns for the hundredth time, face down on the pillow, every muscle in her body tense.

The long night does give her time to think, though:

_Why am I, of all people, drawn into these strange and dangerous worlds?_

_What can I possibly do to save a vampire?_

_Am I not normal? _

_Does Jake still love me?_

And as the night goes on and the world turns in its sleep, Bella tries to piece things together. She thinks about who she is, what she has to offer and most of all what she needs. The conclusions she finds are both humbling and hopeful.

Then she hears her window slide open.

She doesn't move.

There is someone in her room.

Bella is immobile, while her mind races ahead to the conclusion.

_She's here. I'm going to die. Oh God, what if she doesn't settle for me? What if she gets Charlie too?_

A warm hand touches her back.

"Bella? Are you awake?"

She gasps and flings herself over, reaches up and holds onto the figure leaning over her bed. She's shaking so hard she can barely speak his name.

"Jake."

"Honey. Hey..."

His voice is so instantly soothing that there's no room for thought, she just pulls him down onto the bed with her, seeks his mouth in the dark. Jacob kisses her once, hesitantly, then sighs the sigh of reprieve.

"Just stay. Whatever you came to say, leave it till morning. I want you here with me." Bella can't even see his face, it's so dark, but she would know that body anywhere. She feels him nod, can picture the stupid expression on his face, then she's insistently kissing him, grasping the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling his firm body down onto hers.

He sighs, wraps her legs around him, and no further words are needed. He is home. For a moment each of them feels nothing but the perfection of togetherness. Her lightness like a ballerina partners his strength – he holds her easily and gently; two butterflies dancing in summer air. His heat warms her cold, his breath merges with her own. They can hear each other heartbeats hammering through their rib cages.

Jacob flips over so that he's on his back and she's lying on top of him. Wearing flannel pyjamas. How Bella. Only she could make flannel sexy. And it is, because she has bare skin at her neck which demands to be kissed, and an elasticated waistband to slip his hand under and caress. Not once does she ask him to stop or slow down, and part of his conscious human brain is screaming _Moron, she'll eat you alive in the morning if you don't speak to her now _and yet he's gone beyond reasoning, beyond rational thought.

Nothing has ever felt so right as him and Bella, in this moment.

For her part, Bella is in absolute accord, as clothes are shimmied out of and thrown and discarded on her bedroom floor. She finds herself tracing her fingers from the throbbing muscle at the side of Jacob's neck to a small hollow on his shoulder, then down the hard inclines of his chest and onto his stomach (which makes him groan) then making small circles lower and lower down his side. She finds a small place on his hipbone that is soft and kissable, and from then on she is utterly lost.

Somehow it's all too easy for them to join together, moving gently at first. Jacob worries that it's too much – he's too much – for her. She's so little. After the initial pressure and gasp though, Bella finds her way, becomes more insistent, lapping her body against his and feeling a hundred strange new sensations. _So this is what it is like. _None of the books she has read, films she has seen, or conversations she has had could ever have prepared Bella for this moment. As Jacob moves inside her, she feels that nothing in the world could ever be better than this feeling, with the person she loves.

Bella finds herself breathing quietly, drifting into a place of sleep, lying on Jacob's chest as he strokes her back. He kisses her naked shoulder, watches as the winter sun starts to climb slowly from the dark of night into the morning. Jacob hears Charlie stir, but still he doesn't move, as if cocooned from all outside eyes. He wills Charlie to walk past Bella's bedroom and leave them undisturbed, and so he does. Jacob waits until he hears the cruiser pull out from the front of the house and then whispers in Bella's ear.

"Baby…wake up."

Bella opens one sleepy eye and smiles at him. "No. I'm having a really good dream. About a wolf, who climbed through my bedroom window and ravished me."

"Makes you sounds like Little Red Riding Hood." Jacob snorts. "Just remember what happened to the wolf in that story."

Bella opens her eyes fully, sits bolt upright. "Charlie! Is he-"

"Gone to work, yes." Jacob turns on his side and lets her sink back down on the bed. It's really time they talked.

"Well, that was unexpected," Bella peers at him from under her lashes. She's coloring a little on the cheeks. _Bit late for that._

"Which part?" Jacob teases.

"How did you get in my window? God, I was so scared. I thought it was-"

"No – we wouldn't let that happen. We've been watching the house for days now and there's been no sign of her."

Bella is looking into space now, seeing things there that Jacob cannot. Jacob takes her chin in his hand, turns her face gently to meet his eyes.

"Bells, I wouldn't let her touch you. You know that."

"I know…Jake." Bella pauses, as if unsure of herself. Listen…I know about, the imprint."

"Yes. I know you do."

Bella sits up, freeing her top half from bedcovers that are never going to cover two people, let alone one of them his size. He tries not to look at her breasts. Fails miserably. _Focus, idiot. _

"Hold on, how can you know that?"

"I was there in the cemetery when you met with Edward. I was guarding you. I'm sorry I should have let you know I was there."

"Yes, you should!"

"You've no idea, Bella…" Jake's voice softens. "How I felt when I saw you crying. Sam had alpha ordered me not to interfere unless you were in danger. But I wanted to be there. To be the one who told you about the imprint. Not _him._" Jacob's voice turns to bitterness.

"It doesn't matter," Bella says softly, her hand moving to his chest, placing it over his human heart.

"What?"

"I've had time to think about it, not having slept for most of the night. The imprint. It doesn't matter. Can I tell whether we would have loved each other without it? I can. Because you are right for me, Jacob Black. In every single way that matters. Perhaps whatever this imprint is, it knew that we were right for each other even more than we did. So there."

"So _there?" _Jacob is speechless.

"I am yours, if you'll have me." Bella smiles coyly.

"I think, Bells. I just did."

Then Jacob folds her in his arms again and in the dawn light gleaming from the reflections of snow from outside he begins to explore her body like a newfound territory: every curve is a landscape, his hands mapping each crevice that needs to be kissed, and claimed.

"It's so nice to see you in the daylight" he admits. "Last night was pretty…intense." He looks carefully at Bella, trying to gauge her reaction.

Bella takes him by the ears and looks into his dark eyes. "Last night was the best night of my whole life, Jacob Black."

Then she sits up and smiles widely.

"And now…we make pancakes!"

...

After a breakfast of bacon rolls, scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes, Jacob and Bella crash on the couch. Bella licks the maple syrup from her fingers and sighs contentedly.

"I have a Biology test today at school, but you know what? For the first time in my life I really couldn't care less."

"Careful. You don't want your school record to end up as screwed up as mine."

Bella rolls her eyes. "That's different, wolf boy." Jacob lays his head on her lap and she runs her fingers rhythmically through his black hair. He hums contentedly.

"The real world seems even further away than normal." Bella comments.

Jacob snorts. "The real world, huh, Bells? The one where you are the she-warrior of the vampires?" His voice turns a little bitter and he shakes his head. "Those idiot Cullens. Thinking they can use you like that. You were right to tell him where to go."

"I've been thinking about that actually."

"Oh?"

Bella smells determined, Jacob realizes.

"I don't think Edward is _exactly_ right, but there might be _something_ to what Alice has seen in the future."

"Bella, come on…"

"No, I mean it. Think about it, just for a minute, okay? Alice said that there was a danger the wolves and vampires would fight each other. She also said that I would be the one to protect the Cullens from being destroyed. What if that is one and the same thing?"

Jacob is frowning. "Alright, enlighten me."

"Maybe I'm meant to stop you guys fighting. Maybe I'm not a protector, exactly, but more of a peacemaker. I was awake half the night thinking of this…"

"Oh yeah, which half?" Jacob teases, running a finger down her side until she blushes.

"I'm serious! Jake, do you think that it's possible? That I'm meant to be a go-between?"

"The only thing you are meant to be is a beautiful teenage girl. With a wolf boyfriend," he adds cheekily. Then seeing her expression he grimaces. "You are not going to let this go are you?"

"Probably not."

"Then I'd better do what I can to distract you in the meantime…"

And the look in Jacob Black's eyes is pure hunger.


	15. Treaty

"So does being a wolf imprint mean I get some magic superpowers too?" Bella is asking, as she sifts flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. It's a school day, and Jacob is over helping her get the house ready for the coming night.

"Like superhearing?" Bella clarifies.

Jacob shakes his head and grins.

"Or supersmell?"

"Nope."

"Not even an extra long tongue?"

"Nada."

"Well that blows. So what do I get out of this then?" Bella moves over to the food processor and begins whizzing up the ingredients to the chocolate cake she is making.

"Come here and I'll show you," he waggles his fingers at her.

"Okay, but no funny business. I have a wooden spoon…" Bella advances cautiously until she's standing toe to toe with him.

"You get…this," he points to his lips, pursing them. Bella laughs, shakes her head and shrugs. _Adorable. _

She gives him a gentle kiss, then leans back while he has his eyes closed. Watches him bite his lower lip, tasting with his tongue where her kiss has been.

"Mmm, that's nice. But it's not all. You also get this…" He holds his palm towards her. For a moment Bella thinks he is asking her to dance, something that has not happened since the night he found out Edward was a vampire. But she's misunderstood. Instead, Jacob scoops her up with one hand, and using his hand as a seat, lifts her into the air and deftly catches her in his arms.

"Now, that's pretty cool, huh?"

"If you want your girlfriend to have a heart attack. I don't really need reminding about how puny I am compared to you… I was wondering, however, if I might get to see you in wolf form again soon."

Jacob raises an eyebrow.

"Wolf form."

"Yeah." Bella's cheeks stain a little red. "It's your birthday the day after tomorrow, and I thought if I could persuade Charlie to let me be alone with you then we could go somewhere for a picnic, just the two of us…where you can be more _yourself_."

Jacob grins then. Bella knows it's his birthday. And she wants to spend it with him. Game on.

"Bells, I could play Uno all day with you and drink tap water and have the best day ever. You know that. And I'd happily do that in wolf form except my paws are totally shit at holding cards." An image flickers through his head of the pack sitting around on their bottoms on a break from patrol, playing poker. "Besides…we are alone now, at least till the others get here."

Bella sighs. "I'd just like to be given the all clear by Charlie. He doesn't say a word about us. Just shoots daggers at me whenever I mention your name. Is he going to call Mom on me? Am I going to be grounded? Forbidden from seeing you? It's like waiting for the axe to fall. I know something bad is on the way. Maybe I'd just like to get some time with you while I still can. And there is, also, something I'd like to try with you."

She's looking at the floor now, a bit bashful.

"Okay, I'm going to say this really quickly and hope that it doesn't sound too weird, but I'd really like to ride you."

Jacob's mouth opens with a little _pop_ sound. Did she just? What the…

"Your _wolf, _Jake." Bella amends, seeing his face. "Shoot, I mean, I'd like to ride _on your back_ if that's even possible. God, you guys. One track mind. Although, I'm sure" she adds cheekily, "that could also be arranged."

Jacob's mouth is still hanging open when Bella pops a wooden spoon of cake mixture into it.

"Don't drool," she grins at him. "It's about time I enjoyed the full perks of being a wolf girlfriend."

...

Later on the sun is down, and after peppering her with kisses Jacob finally lets go of the screen door with Bella protesting that she has too much to get ready to have him distracting her.

"Bella loca," he sighs. He can't say he's happy about this evening. Seeing Sam coming across the road, he waves a hand in greeting.

"Hey chief. You showed."

Sam grimaces and shakes his head. "I showed."

"Well she's made you a chocolate cake," Jacob grins.

"Chocolate cake, huh? Well there has to be something worthwhile about tonight, I guess." Rolling his eyes and thrusting his big brown hands into the torn pockets of his long shorts, Sam Uley climbs the steps and knocks on Bella Swan's door.

"Not sticking around?"

"Nope," Jacob pushes down his irritation, and it's like trying to ignore an itch. "She decided it would be an 'unfair advantage' on our side," he demonstrates Bella talk with bunny ear fingers.

"And you can't keep your mouth shut," Bella adds. She's already at the door, waiting.

"Or his thoughts to himself. I can do without the extra voices cussing in my head," Sam nods his head politely at Bella and gives Jacob a pointed glance.

"Okay, sheesh…I'll stay out of range…"

Then they are gone inside, and Jacob reluctantly lopes away across the yard. He'll stay at a distance, but he wants to be sure as hell that they've kept to their side of the bargain too.

Much to Sam's amusement, Bella has seated him in the living room, with plumped cushions at his back, and the coffee table is covered in a white tablecloth. There are flowers in a vase and mood music is playing in the background. His mouth twists into a smile. It's very Emily, somehow. He watches Bella as she paces nervously around the room.

"Where's Charlie tonight?"

"Harry Clearwaters. They are having a games night."

"So he doesn't know you are starting up a vampire / wolf reconciliation focus group, then?" Sam's face is straight, and for a moment Bella doesn't know what to say.

"Um…"

"It's okay, Bella. We're not going to tear the place up. I don't even object to a discussion. So long as it ends with the Cullens leaving town."

Bella realises she's holding her breath. She looks at the giant figure who seems to dwarf her Dad's armchair with his bulk. He's taken his shoes off at the door and she sees a hole in his sock darned with red thread. His eyes are charcoal, but glittering with warmth.

"Chocolate cake, Sam?"

"You bet."

So when Bella ushers Carlisle Cullen into the room, Sam is sitting down and munching on his second piece of chocolate cake, a white plate and doily on his lap with an unused cake fork. He has chocolate crumbs around his mouth.

"May I take your coat, Carlisle?"

Bella helps him out of his dark grey wool coat and takes his scarf.

"Thank you, Bella… Sam." He acknowledges the wolf leader as he takes a seat on the couch. Sam is watching him, cautious, but unafraid.

_Well, here goes nothing, _thinks Bella. Takes a deep breath and begins.

...

An hour later Sam is on his feet and pacing the room. Carlisle still sits in the same position he's assumed since the start: elbows resting on knees, fingers pressed together. Earnest and calm.

"The last thing we wanted was to cause the wolf pack difficulty or discomfort," Carlisle says quietly. "We could not have foreseen that our presence in La Push would cause the younger men to begin their transformations."

"It's what you do to us," Sam says gruffly. "It's what we are. But you sure as hell can't stay any longer. Even now there's kids of only 14 who look like they're running a fever."

"Surely there can be some room for compromise. Perhaps if we kept a certain distance from the reservation, the impact would be lessened upon your people?"

Sam shakes his head. "So long as we see a threat, the pack will continue to grow."

"Exactly. So that needs to change. Maybe you need to stop being a threat to each other," Bella interjects. "From what you've said Carlisle, your family believe strongly in protecting human life. That doesn't sound too different to what I heard at the campfire at La Push. Maybe, in this time and place, you are on the same side – especially with others on the loose."

Carlisle and Sam catch themselves nodding thoughtfully at each other.

"So what are you getting at, Bella? A temporary truce?" Sam looks sceptical.

"Or a permanent one. We have no desire to fight your kind." Carlisle's golden eyebrows furrow over his strange amber eyes.

"I'll bet you don't," Sam snorts.

"I should really get a say in this, you know." Bella blurts out.

Both of them look at her with a measure of surprise.

"It's me that you're having to protect night and day, Sam. Until Victoria is caught you are exhausting your resources. And it's me that you are here for, Carlisle. I know you won't leave until Alice's visions change. I won't leave Jacob, so you are just going to _have_ to work something out until then."

"She is right," Carlisle says calmly. "We need Bella nearby. But that doesn't mean we can't relocate a more comfortable distance from La Push."

"No going on our land. That's a deal breaker." Sam warns. "And no biting anyone. There will be a line drawn that you cannot cross, Carlisle, or it means war."

"I think we can agree to that. But there would be some terms of our own." Carlisle's eyes flicker onto Bella. "We would like to protect Bella too. Share the responsibility."

"It would take a good deal of trust to allow the imprint of a pack member to live in a vampire coven." Sam snorts. "Even if I had an agreement signed in blood." He smiles wryly.

"I would be willing, so long as Charlie is not suspicious," Bella says simply. "I don't believe you or your family want to hurt me, Carlisle. Maybe once there is peace, the threat to the Cullens will go away, and they will be able to leave."

"Is that what you think, Bella?" Carlisle is looking at her, his face unreadable.

"I'm willing to try."

And so they hammer out the finer details of the treaty. Bella will spend her Sundays with the Cullens. The Cullens will be responsible for her safety whilst at school. The Pack will take over on weekday evenings and Saturdays, and they will all take a share in the night-shifts. When it comes to discussion about Victoria, Carlisle is certain that Alice "will see her coming." Sam looks unconvinced but is equally sure that she's nothing the pack cannot handle.

"And Charlie. Will he be safe?"

"As safe as he can be," Carlisle reassures her. "Thank you Bella," he adds. "You are an extraordinary young lady."

"Yeah, and you make a mean chocolate cake too," Sam adds. "Now I'm going to have to do the hard sell to the rest of the pack. Not looking forward to this one bit. A treaty with vampires." He shakes his head disbelievingly, then rises to go.

"Carlisle," he looks steadily at his new ally.

"Sam."

Carlisle waits behind.

"May I have a word with you Bella?"

Sam hesitates in the hallway, unwillingly to let Bella be alone with a vampire. Then he shrugs as Bella looks pointedly at him as if to say: _It starts here. _

"Sam, it's fine. Tell Jake we're nearly done, okay?"

"Your call."

Then it's just Bella and the golden eyed doctor. She hands him his coat and he puts it on, winding the scarf around his neck twice. _How pointless. He'll never warm up. _She feels a pang of sorrow for him.

Carlisle turns and smiles.

"Edward asked me to apologise to you, and I would add to his apology with thanks. It may seem like we are only here to use you Bella, and I'm sorry for that. Understand, when you first met my son, he was a very lonely and unhappy young man. Through meeting you, he's started to become something else."

"Well, I don't think that can have anything to do with me," Bella protests.

"Bella. We are vampires." Carlisle gently explains. "Our natures do not change much over time. We don't need air or sun or rain or sleep. We are so far from human that it can be easy to forget all emotion, all love and honour and friendship. All the things that make your own human life full of joy. It's even harder for Edward, because although he is loved very much by his family, he has no one _to_ love. No real soul partner. Imagine over a hundred years of bottled and distilled feelings which over time have turned to stone."

"A hundred years?" Bella gasps. Surely Edward can't be that old.

"He's changing because of you, Bella. And it's a change for the better." Carlisle reaches out and gently touches her shoulder. She feels a brief chill of cold, then he smiles and is gone through the door and across the yard to his Mercedes Benz.

Bella waits for a moment, then her confusion abates as a smile of deep satisfaction crosses her face. _Treaty._

"Jake…" she says quietly.

And he's running towards her, no shirt and hastily pulled on shorts, picking her up and spinning her around.

"God I thought the bloodsucker would never leave. I totally freaked when Sam came out alone. I was nearly in there but Sam said everything was fine. Everything is fine, isn't it Bella? I've to go now and talk with the Pack but he said I should have two minutes with you… Damn, I want more than two minutes." His voice is low and husky. "When are they leaving Bella? Will they go tonight?"

Bella bites her lip, looks up at him from under her eyelashes.

"Okay, Jake. Don't get mad…"

Yet when Bella tells him the content of the treaty it's too late for that. He backs away, makes for the tree line and suddenly she hears an enraged howl.

A few minutes later, an enormous russet wolf pads towards her. Bella waits until he approaches, until he lies down at her feet and whines. He's gesturing with his nose. Pointing towards his back. That look in his wolf eyes: she would swear it's determined. He's saying _get on. _

Bella swings her leg over, grabs onto his long fur and is lifted up as he raises himself off the ground. A short barking sound and then he's running. Across her yard, across the road. Into the woods and uphill. She leans forward, holds on with her knees. _I will not fall off. _ Yet already, he's going too fast and she's wobbling. He slows for a moment as she rebalances.

"Jake…" she calls, into a furry ear. "You know you'll have to have me back by the time Charlie gets home or there will be a wolf shag pile rug on our floor by tomorrow."

The wolf huffs and lets out a growl that she swears sounds amused. Then he's off again, speeding into the night as if by running fast enough, he'll take her away from danger to a place where they can be together and chase down the dawn.

But over cold air and wet land, through cedar trees and in the beating of his heart, Jacob Black feels the pull of the pack that will, and must, bring them homewards again.


	16. Warm Shadows of the Heart

_A bit of separation, _Charlie calls it. He'd brought the whole thing up again over dinner, gesturing with his corn on the cob. Well, she'd known it was coming. _No school night weekdays. _She is to 'date' Jake properly. Friday and Saturday nights only. No messing with her schoolwork and no sneaking around unsupervised. Charlie and Billy had cooked it up between them like a couple of old fish wives, so that Bella is starting to feel like an important but rather ripped and squashed parcel that is to be passed from hand to hand. _Suppose I should be grateful he doesn't just send me air mail to Renee._

Of course, Charlie doesn't know about the nights that Jake is on patrol. That her boyfriend can free-run the house wall and tree-branch-dart his way through the bedroom window, like some super hairy Romeo. _To continue the metaphor_, Bella blushes, _that is the only time I get to be unwrapped. _

"I think I'm becoming a bit addicted," she confesses to Jake, as he is lazily tracing warm fingers up and down her spine. She can still feel where minutes before he'd been inside her, and the recent memory of his gasping throbbing is making her thighs clench.

"I'll be your support group," Jake smiles smugly, and his fingers wander downwards to the curves of her bottom. She shivers with pleasure.

"Is this a wolf thing, or do you think everyone has this?"

"I think it's a Jake and Bells thing, honey." Jake guides her hand between his legs and she makes a low noise of approval at what she finds there.

"Again?"

Jake grins his trademark cheeky-ass sunny smile. "We need something to see us through the next few days. I'm not on night patrol again till Thursday." He pulls her body on top of his and she deftly finds her favourite position, legs wrapped around his strong waist. Everything is so easy with him. There's no room for doubt or sadness or fear.

Bella leans down and whispers in his ear. "I'll give you some thoughts to keep to yourself that would even make Paul Lahote blush…"

_Hallelujah for wolf super hearing that Charlie is asleep and doesn't know what I'm doing with his daughter right now._

Jake gives a contented growl and pushes into her until her chocolate eyes are wide and her breath is ragged.

* * *

><p>At breakfast time a silver Volvo is sitting in the driveway in front of the Swan house.<p>

Bella catches the glint from the oh-so-shiny hood as it purrs to a stop and she drops her half-eaten pop tart and races to the front door before Charlie has a chance to so much as glance up from _The Seattle Times. _

When she opens the door her heart is pounding and she's wondering what the emergency is that would bring a vampire to her door. _Victoria…Victoria…_

Edward actually smiles then, at her panicked face, and whispers "_personal bodyguard_," and then winks at her. By then Charlie has sauntered through and is leaning against the wall, munching toast and assessing the newcomer.

"Dad, this is Edward Cullen," she says lamely.

Charlie gives his 'bad cop deadpan look' as he scrutinizes the ethereal looking youngster with the strange golden eyes standing in his doorway.

"My lab partner in Biology," Bella rather hurriedly adds, feeling herself glowing stupidly crimson.

Edward actually steps forward and shakes Charlie's hand – wearing gloves of course – and gives it all the _Yes Sir, Bella told me her truck was having problems _line and how much of a responsible driver he is and how they have a _fungi spore project_ that they need to talk about.

With a straight face. Honestly.

"Mushrooms, Edward?" Bella clips on her seatbelt. She notices he's put the seat warmer on for her, and settles back comfortably on the leather seat.

"I hope you don't mind. It seemed a more cautious excuse than explaining that there is a vengeful vampire on the loose. Besides, we _do _have a project we need to do for Mr Banner, remember?"

Bella sighs. Since The Night that will be forever be capitalized_ - _when she found out Edward was a vampire and that there were other vampires out to wreak havoc and revenge -she's been a bit out of it at school. Missing assignments. Daydreaming in class.

"It's hard to concentrate in school when you don't know if there will be a tomorrow."

Edward's face looks pained.

"That is not going to happen. You need to stay focused on the future, your life when all of this is over. When the vampires are gone and you can go back to normality and go to a good college and…" His voice trails away, imagining the inevitable future for Bella.

Marriage. _With Jacob Black_

Children. _Little brown haired, chocolate eyed angels running around Charlie's front yard._

For a moment his marble composure shows cracks.

"Nobody is going to allow you to get hurt, Bella," he stutters out.

"I don't think my life is ever going to be normal. Not now. I know too much. Why would I even want a normal life, when the world is full of strangeness and…magic? You can't go back. It's not possible."

Edward is quiet as they drive the rest of the way to school. As they pull in to the parking lot, Bella is aware of lustful faces whipping around and tracking them. The eyes of their peers saying: _Really? Bella Swan? You've got to be kidding me? What does he see in that loser?_

There is the noiseless breaking of a hundred female –and some male- hearts. Edward, seemingly oblivious, carries her book bag and walks attentively at her side.

"People are staring," she mutters.

"Let them," Edward laughs, and gives her shoulder a squeeze. He's actually smiling happily for once as the other students give them curious glances. "They think we're a couple."

Their eyes meet and Bella shakes her head as if to say _don't be ridiculous. _

The thought makes her uncomfortable on so many levels.

School today feels like she's woken up after a long sleep. Life's been so completely absorbed by the world of _Jake'n'Bells _that she realises that outside her thoughts of wolf-packs and treaties and imprints, that there is a community of people whose lives have been moving on without her. Jessica is 'off' again with Mike, who is moping at the lunch table, and Angela has started dating Ben Cheney. They all discuss their college applications, and deadlines and upcoming class tests. Now that she's tuned back in, Bella starts to panic. Edward's right. She's not been thinking about her future. At all.

"So, you and Edward, huh? He hasn't left your side all day." Jessica's eyes are warm and glittering as she fishes for gossip.

"Just friends, Jess. You know I'm with Jacob."

"Well, I hope Jacob is up for a bit of healthy competition." She raises an eyebrow. "Damn girl. If you don't need both can you send one my way?"

Edward turns then and looks at them. He gives a grin and runs his hand through his hair. Bella blushes. He's probably listening in from across the crowded table. Just her luck to be surrounded by people with super hearing.

At the end of the day, Edward ghosts back out to the Volvo with her, opening the car door for her. _Another thing to fuel gossip. _He's such a gentleman, she can hardly complain, but he's taking his role as temporary protector into levels of attentiveness that are making her the centre of attention. She's done nothing but bat away suggestions about her and Edward all day. Never has she felt so horribly uncomfortable. He's somehow managed to sweet-talk Mrs Cope into switching most of his classes to Bella's, despite her protestations that a vampire is hardly likely to strike in the middle of Mr. Varner's trig class.

On reflection though, it will certainly help having someone so incredibly smart in classes with her. He knows the material inside out, and has promised to help her catch up on Sundays over at his place. She won't even have to lie to Charlie about having a study buddy.

"I'm sorry about today, Edward," she looks down at her hands.

His pale hands are drumming on the steering wheel happily in time with the swing music playing in the car.

"Sorry for what?"

"The whole – thinking we're a couple thing."

She glances over at him and he's smiling widely.

"It doesn't bother you?"

Edward shakes his head, still smiling.

"Let's just say it's a novelty for me."

"Oh."

Bella hadn't considered that. She'd been lost in her own mortification and thoughts of Jacob tugging at her all day long that she'd never thought about it from Edward's point of view. Of course, he'd never been in a relationship before. Never been close to anyone. That's what Carlisle had been getting at. Did that mean that it was good for Edward to be human, to be around humans, interact with them the way he did at the lunch table today, joking and laughing with Angela and Ben? Certainly this was not the reserved and enigmatic Edward she had first encountered, who always seemed so lost, so hidden in his own secrets.

"It's just…I don't want people thinking that I would do that to Jake."

"Let them think what they like, Bella. It's no big deal. They'll be used to it by next week. Humans are so predictable that way."

Bella sighs and stares through the glass at the wet Forks scenery: cedars, shacks, gas station, road sign, logging truck.

Then she gasps, sits up. Comes alive.

Through the trees she's seen a glimpse of red fur.

"Jake!"

Edward's eyes flicker to the woods.

"He's making sure I get you home okay."

Bella laughs, suddenly feels buoyant. He must be on patrol. As she presses her nose to the window of the Volvo looking for more signs of him she suddenly feels that everything is alright again. Edward's right. What does it matter what other people see? Jacob is in her heart, exactly where he should be.

He's with her all the time, like a constant warm shadow behind the murmur of her beating heart.


	17. Vampire Lonely Hearts Column

Edward has thought of himself as the family priest for some decades now. Drawn to a calling: no human blood. Pulled in to witness the relentless outpouring of vampire minds; six separate radios all buzzing away at once. Like a priest, it makes him walk separate from them. Not enough to offend, but enough to tune them out and give some semblance of privacy. If he absorbs himself enough in one thing – the spinning of a spider web, the pattering of individual raindrops in a storm or musical notes in a symphony – then he can cuts off all other channels. Lately he's taken to musing on a small heart shaped face with soulful eyes, examining each pore in her fragile skin, each minute movement of her body and the way it reads like a complicated story. This is enough to give him peace.

He wonders how Sam Uley does it. Keeps so many yapping, pubescent voices at bay from tearing at his sanity. Jake's thoughts used to give an incredible insight into the pack mind. Well, at least the wolves could be ordered to _shut the hell up. _Not so the Cullens.

"God Edward, would you quit with the mooching around?" Rosalie complains. "Did nobody ever tell you vampires don't have to fidget?"

"Oh Rose…leave him alone. He's just restless because Bella is coming over today." Alice shoots him a sympathetic smile. _Wish you'd let me help a little bit. Do some match-making? _

Edward imagines the lonely hearts column: "105 year old animated corpse seeks bride for chaste kissing. You must like cold, dead things and not be averse to accidental blood sucking followed by early death."

"I think it's fair to say that Bella is better off without me, Alice."

_But you are so miserable. And you are already in love with her, so what will be, will be. I can't see her future, so who knows what might happen if you'd only try? Geez, Ed, it's like you want to spend the rest of existence being miserable._

"Well I don't see how that's going to change anyway."

Rose turns away from the television. "Would you quit with the one-sided conversation thing, or spill the beans? How many times do we have to tell you two that it's rude?"

"I'm just pointing out to Edward that you should never give up hope, that's all." Alice shoots him an earnest look.

"Hm," Rosalie looks sceptical. "Seems like a lot of fuss to make over a human if you ask me. She's just going to get old and die anyways."

_Rosalie's thoughts flicker briefly to a small pale face framed by long dark hair. Insignificant. _

She doesn't look away from _America's Next Top Model, _which she and Alice are watching. Alice for the clothes, Rosalie to bitch about the imperfections of the models.

"I don't see the problem man, you're a vampire. Aren't humans supposed to be drawn in by our honeyed voices and beautiful faces?" Emmett frames his face with his hands and makes a smoochy expression.

Edward sighs. "Yes, Emmett. Humans are meant to be drawn to vampires…so we can eat them."

His mind is filled suddenly with a stab of remorse from Emmett – an unusual sensation from the mind of his brother, whose thoughts are at best usually happy-go-lucky and at worst blunt.

_Her legs, stretching up on tiptoe to hang up the washing…that smell…the ripping…_

Edward reels back and catches Emmett's eyes. He looks…guilty. It's not the first time this memory has surfaced, and Edward looks away. Ghosts from the past. The olfactory smell still lingers in his thoughts. So similar to Bella.

"You won't hurt her Edward," Alice chimes from where she is lying gracefully on her stomach on the luxurious white pile carpet.

"She can't really prefer hanging out with Muttley ." Rosalie concedes.

Edward counts the things Jacob Black can give her.

Strength? Check.

Speed? Check.

Unconditional love? Check.

So what's a vampire to do? Show her your geeky collection of coffins and crucifixes, Holy water and garlic? Hey Bella, come and see my summer project from '69 when I confiscated lots of supposed anti-vampire paraphernalia from the _Ball der Vampire_ in Heidelberg.

You want to hear me play piano? It's not like it's anything impressive when you've had nigh on 90 odd years to perfect the playing. I could play any song you liked from your i-pod playlist, since I've already memorised them all.

Like the _stalker loser_ that he is.

Or maybe you'll be impressed by my encyclopaedic knowledge of philosophy?

I could cool down your drink in summer just by sticking my fingers in it.

Blind you with my whiteness and dazzle you into submission with my sparkly skin?

Actually, that one might be worth a try. So there is one pressing advantage he has over Jacob.

He glows.

But only in sunlight.

Which makes him about as useful as a broken torch.

Jasper says in his thoughts: _I can feel what you are feeling Edward, and it's purer than I ever felt. Maybe you should stop fighting this compulsion to be with her. After a century of seduction and brutality, where I could get whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it… I learned a few tricks with human women._

Images of beautiful faces flood from Jasper's mind, all turning towards him with flushed cheeks and shining eyes. An amber curl of hair is pulled behind a shoulder. A quick small tongue licks small pink lips.

Edward's eyebrows raise in an almost imperceptible question, while Jasper goes into Confederate major mode.

_Step One: Approach after dark. Whisper in her ear while she is dreaming in her boudoir._

An image of a pale pink bedroom, billowing curtains around the bed, gold embossed panelling…a small dark-haired girl – no older than fourteen or fifteen – sleeping peacefully. Edward can feel the peace that Jasper is radiating, the way he rests his hands upon the pillow beside her and breathes in her alluring violet scent. The girl is smiling now in her sleep, and as Jasper stares at her, he emits images of himself and the girl, intertwined, lustful, skin rubbing on skin. Gradually the girl on the bed begins to move, moan a little, clutch at the sheets.

_Step Two: Confidence. It's all in the eyes. Entrapment._

Edward can feel Jasper's cold fingers stroking peachy soft skin, can sense the pulsing music of the girl's heartbeat as it stutters in her sleep and she awakes to Jasper's stare.

_Step Three: Gain her trust._ _Talk to her. Befriend her._

"Don't be scared. It's just me. You've been waiting such a long time for me, m'darlin. Now I'm finally here…" The girl smiles, still lost as if in a dream as the waves of positivity and love – yes – _love _that Jasper is smothering her in encase her body from top to toe.

Jasper leans over gently and kisses her neck, raises the blood to the surface…

Edward blinks and turns away.

_Well, something like that, anyways. _

"Thanks, but no thanks Jazz," Edward speaks aloud. "And you don't do that anymore."

"Nope." Jasper slides down beside Alice, raising her wrist to his mouth for a chaste kiss.

_Those girls would make of me a serial killer again, and now even worse - an adulterer. _

Waves of Jasper's shame fill Edward's mind, until he has to turn and leave the room.

He wanders over to the large glass window at the front of the house and looks down the driveway, listening for the approach of a red truck. Tries to focus on her and only her. Her goodness. Her Bella-ness. As if she is a perfume he can distil and stopper that will drown out all other senses.

In the background snippets from his family assault his mind, unasked for.

M_ozzarella cheese…A seating plan for lunch? What would make Bella feel less awkward about being the only eater? _ _…cares for the whole person on the job, his home life will benefit. Attention to soul and spirit gives the practice of medicine a grander context and a bigger vision. It is…She looks like a creature from I don't know where…She's got a real cute tush…Don't you see de black clouds, ris-in ober yonder, whar de massa's old plantation am…_

Edward shudders. You know Jasper's having a bad day of it when the Southern songs come out to play.

"She's coming!" Alice trills.

Sure enough, he can hear the truck, puttering along on its last legs. A thrill shoots through him like fire, settling and churning in his stomach. _Bella._

He flees the house and watches as she comes into view, shooting him a smile and giving a little wave, then cutting the engine.

_She's here. For the whole day!_ Edward's mind floods with happiness as he vampire runs to open the car door for her and lift her out the truck, spinning her round and around.

One moment of pure bliss: of the sensation of warmth and softness and life in his hands.

Then it's utterly defiled.

Alice is having a vision.

_Bella lying on the ground. Blood everywhere. In her eyes. Matting up her hair. Her throat half gone. Eyes staring glassily. Edward's white face shrieking at the night. _

Then the vision develops, sharpens like a certain text.

_Bella. A whiter shade of pale. _

_With eyes of red fire._


	18. King Tides

**Author's Note:** A big thanks to all of you who have helped this ff reach the 30K mark. The stats don't lie, apparently, else it would be hard to believe that there are people following from all over the world - Columbia, Australia, The Netherlands: *big wave* to you all. Message me sometime, I always write back.

This quick and short update is on demand for the lovely **Taoist Elf**, who is a real powerhouse of a writer - go check her out if you don't already know her.

We're hovering around the halfway mark now, so if you have a favorite character you would like to see given some more space and time in the fic, I'm happy to oblige. Let me know and It will be an honor to accommodate you.

Clara:-)

* * *

><p>Red fire stretches across the sky, extinguishing the pale blue winter morning underneath. Bella is curled up, with Jake at her back in wolf form. They sit at the very top of First Beach perched on a pile of driftwood bleached out as old bones.<p>

"Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning."

The wolf beside her raises his nose to the air, sniffs once then puts his head back down on his paws.

"Happy Valentines." She grins, rubbing his russet head. "Do I get a kiss, or are you going wolf all day today?"

In answer, the wolf rises, a glint in its eyes, and pounces on her like a cub at play. His long tongue shoots out, covering her face liberally with slimy saliva.

"Ew! Jake…gross!"

She would swear that his wolf is laughing.

"Go! Phase!" She points, trying to wipe off the drool.

Bella turns back to the sky. It has lightened now to pink. Out on the water a lone surfer is riding a huge wave, practicing for La Push Pummel in ten days time.

"Bella! Hey!"

Bella turns to see her closest female friend on the res approaching the shore, loaded with two picnic baskets.

"Thought the guys might need a snack after all that rock carrying and tree hauling" Emily gestures all along the steep incline of the beach where gigantic rocks and trees form a sea wall. The pack have been up most of the night heaving them there to stop the incoming swells.

"Yeah, it's tiring for them seeing who has got the biggest…_rock" _Bella smirks.

Emily's mouth twitches underneath her scars. "Boys will be boys," she says lightly, and settles down beside Bella, resting a head on her shoulder.

"So Em, is this going to keep on happening? " Bella gestures out across where the sandy beach should be and out into the watery Olympic peninsula.

"It's the moon. It's closer this time of year than at any other. The sun pulls. The earth pulls. What do you get? King tides. It's gravity. Been getting worse the last few years though."

"Blame it on the woman," Bella comments. "The moon." Bella explains, seeing Emily's surprised face. "She's always associated with us because of our monthlies. It's everywhere in literature."

'_And now she turns her perfect face upon the world below.' _Bella thinks to herself.

"Quileute legends do say that it's a full moon that can make us phase for the first time. Not that I've seen much proof of that so far." Emily smiles kindly.

"Just flooding then." Bella turns her back on the rolling waves and looks down the coastline to where the waters have reached the porches of several houses. "They built so close to the water."

Emily shrugs. "There's so little land. If it's a choice between living with your in-laws for the rest of your life or having your own home, what would you choose?"

Bella looks back out to the water, scanning with her eyes for the colourful blob of the surfer, but he's gone.

"Hey ladies. Is that bacon I smell?" Embry smiles disarmingly as he approaches. Tanned and topless, he's effortlessly warm and cocky. Grabbing a couple of rolls, he sits down beside them.

"Sam says that he's had to head back up to the Clearwater's house. Jake's gone with him, so I'm the designated bacon roll eater – I mean, imprint babysitter." Embry has laughing eyes.

Bella feels Emily stiffen a little at the mention of her cousin's place. It's no secret that Leah Clearwater has hated Emily for 'stealing' the love of her life. How the hell do you explain about imprints to someone who was supposed to be getting married? Bella shivers. Thinks about Jake. The imprint. In another life, she could be Leah.

"Well, we're not going to sit here freezing our butts off much longer if they're not coming for breakfast." Emily says finally.

"Now just wait one minute. I've got a hamper full of food to myself and two pretty ladies to keep warm. Would you really deny me the pleasure?" Embry's smile is contagious.

Emily and Bella roll their eyes at each other as Embry scoops one of them under each arm. Sure enough, he's roasting.

"So vampire girl, you going to the Valentine's dance tonight at the school?"

Bella ignores the jibe. "Um, haven't you boys had enough of dancing this year?" She shakes her head, looking out to sea. She thinks she can see the wetsuit of the surfer again. An orange wetsuit. But wasn't he wearing blue?

"Aint you heard, Bella? It don't mean a thing if it aint got that swing…"

For a moment Bella cannot speak, because she thinks her eyes are playing tricks on her. Out of the water, so fast she barely has time to blink.

A red-haired white-skinned monster.

"Embry!"

She sees her friend fursplode into grey, jump snarling into the air to meet the vampire headlong. Victoria springs, and Bella just has time to grab Emily and duck before the inevitable collision. She sees Victoria twist in the air, shimmering in the early morning sunlight, and evade the snapping jaws. With one deft kick she lands a blow to the head of the wolf, and Embry Call drops down onto the sand and lies silent.

"Emily, run…" Bella urges, and watches as her friend turns to flee.

Victoria watches, head slightly cocked, estimating, looking after the escaping Quileute girl.

"It's not her you want."

Victoria whips her head back. She has fangs, Bella can see that now. She's never seen the Cullens with fangs. Or red eyes. Never really seen a wild vampire.

"Isabella Swan." The voice is a hiss. Victoria moves so quickly that she's beside her, lifting her easily into the air as if she were a child's plaything. "I have been waiting very patiently and now I am going to make you suffer very very badly." Her voice is strangely sweet and soothing. Bella almost feels herself relax, like an animal that has been given a sedative just before they are to be put down.

"This is for James."

_Crunch. _Bella feels her thumb break. Cries out in agony.

"Is it sore?" Victoria purrs. Bella gasps, nods, tears streaming down her face.

_Crunch._ Victoria breaks her ring finger.

"No ring yet from your pretty vampire love? Pity, that would have made what I'm about to do to you all the sweeter" _Crunch. _

"Hrgh!"Bella screams into the empty sky.

_Crunch_

"James was only curious about you, we all were. Why would a human become a pet for wolves and vampires to play with? Were they planning on turning you? They should have done it before now. Humans are so breakable." That sing-song voice, like a little girl chanting a nursery rhyme. Bella feels herself go slack, sees a buzz of black firefly stars troop across her vision.

_Crunch. _

"Yes, the Volturi will surely be interested in your existence, if I don't take care of that problem _first_." As if to emphasise her point, Victoria flicks a wrist, and shatters the elbow that is barely holding up Bella's ruined hand.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Isabella."

Bella takes one final spinning breath and closes her eyelids. She sees herself fall into Jake's burning gaze; a flicker in her mind of him holding a mud pie; hears the laughter of her mother.

Then the world strains at the edges and her vision is pulled in like a tunnel to a single point of being.

Blackness.


	19. Broken

**A/N I sincerely apologize for leaving you all hanging for so long. I have various excuses, but will just get on with it and feel free to throw things at me if you wish.**

** To recap: Victoria has attacked Bella on the beach at La Push. Embry has been caught in the crossfire. **

**There's been a very nice review of this fic at .com/search/label/Wolf%20Fic%20Rec **

**Many thanks for that...promise I will get this finished. This was a particularly hard chapter to write. You'll see why. **

* * *

><p>I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,<p>

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

Pablo Neruda

* * *

><p>The darkness slowly lifts and morphs into a white wall. There's a white carved mirror, a white armoire, a white wire running into the back of her hand. The white bedside table holds a clear glass of water and a glass vase of lily of the valley flowers. The sheets on top of her are white and smooth and cool. The white bedside lamp illuminates the dimness of the room.<p>

Bella turns her head slowly, feeling a distant ache of immobilisation down her left hand side. She opens her eyes to see a pair of familiar golden eyes staring at her with rapt concern.

"Edward."

She smiles. She had a dream about something. And now he's here and everything is fine.

The golden eyes soften, reassuring. "You are safe." Edward is holding her hand where the drip is stuck in. Bella looks at where her arm is strapped to her side, her hand with each finger in a splint, and the hand itself also in a sling. It's a body that belongs to someone else. Not her body. But that's Edward's hand, in the white button down shirt. Strong and pale, like it's been dusted with talcum powder. Holding her.

"Do you remember what happened?" He's looking into her eyes so intensely, like he's trying to decipher a complicated map. "You are a bit broken in places-" at this Edward breaks off, composes himself. "-but you'll be fine. It was an opportunistic chance. We never saw it coming. It won't happen again." His voice lowers, almost a snarl. " I won't let it."

Bella listens to the words Edward is saying, and smiles. The sounds fragment and float around his head, it's like the letters are in the air, flying off to some distant horizon, dissolving in a chemical reaction. He doesn't make sense, but she likes to hear his voice. He has a voice like a melody. Like something from her childhood. He echoes, like there's a delay in her brain that can't keep up. The voice though, is pure comfort. She wants him to keep talking.

"Embry was out cold but he's cursing like fury now that she got away. Carlisle fixed you up. You're running on morphine just now, so just say if you need any more. As far as Charlie's concerned you are spending the weekend with Alice…then maybe you'll catch a cold on Monday and we'll look after you an extra day or so. Then perhaps you'll have a slight accident. Shut your hand in a car door or something like that."

There is a long silence as Edward continues to hold her hand, stroking gently and softly with cold fingers, as if caring for a wounded bird. Bella watches him, entranced and drugged. He's like an angel, she thinks. Angels do exist. She knows an angel.

"A real one. Such lovely eyes. Imperial topaz." She laughs a little.

"Bella?"

His hand is stroking her cheek now, feeling her forehead. It's like being touched by ice. She flinches.

"I'm sorry my hands are cold."

She shakes her head. "No. Don't you see? You are an angel, Edward. Not a vampire."

She closes her eyes. Sighs. Drifts. Oh, she's so deliciously sleepy tired. And everything is fine. Pain pushed back deep, waiting in the wings.

* * *

><p>When she opens them again he is still there, looking at her.<p>

She looks around. Everything is so quiet. Her breath. The dust motes dancing on the windowsill. Sunlight streaming in and giving what looks like a faint diamond sparkle to Edward's skin. She feels like something is missing, but the conclusion to the thought eludes her. She reaches up with her good hand to touch the mirage of sparkles on the side of Edward's face. So beautiful. His eyes turn to meet hers and he leans forward so that she can touch the cold shining crystals on his face. Her fingers trace patterns against his skin, and he closes his eyes. Sighs peacefully.

"You are shimmering. I knew you were an angel."

Edward inclines his head and opens his eyes again to watch her.

"I thought you were gone, Bella."

His words sound so full of pain that Bella shivers.

He leans over and kisses her on the forehead, then pulls back, stops, hovers over her.

"I may never get this chance again Bella, in the whole of my long existence. I have no right to my feelings for you, or to take advantage of you. I'm nothing. I have nothing. I hate myself already."

He brings a finger up to her lips.

"They're bruised, Bella."

And he leans carefully in and kisses her on the lips. Softly and delicately, then pulls back and looks in her eyes.

"I know you don't belong to me. I'm so selfish for loving you. Just give me one moment to remember."

The angel with the Imperial topaz eyes is kissing her, and she's kissing him back, and it's a lovely dream, and the spring sunshine is flaring through the window and he's all diamonds and cool but careful lips and she's kissing him back and there's no thought or pain just a looping floating sensation of honey and tingling limbs and she wants more, she wants all of him to consume her in a burning flash.

The kiss goes on and on, until Bella feels she's left her body far behind, and only the pain in her arm brings her back a little.

Then he's looking at her with a look of agony tempered with ecstasy.

"I'm so sorry, Bella."

Then she's alone in the white room, with chafed lips and her heart pounding in her ears, while the morphine drip takes her under a velvet blanket once more.

* * *

><p>Bella wakes in pain. Broken. She can feel it all down her left side, the exact places where Victoria has tortured her.<p>

"Jacob!" The words are out of her lips like a cry of pain.

Where is he?

"Bella."

It's just Carlisle, reaching over to feel her fevered brow. She's soaked in sweat.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore."

"I've lessened the morphine. It'll hurt to heal, I'm afraid."

"Heal?" Bella looks sceptically at her ruined hand.

"Yes. Broken fingers do heal, Bella. It might take a few months, but with good care and attention you will have a working hand and arm again."

"And Embry?" Bella remembers the sight of the grey wolf crumpled on the beach.

"They are pretty tough, Bella. He's already up and about. Came by this morning to check up on you actually."

Carlisle isn't meeting her eyes. What is it he's not saying?

"Where's Jacob?"

If Bella knows one thing, it's that Jacob should be here. That he would be here, if he could. Why is she alone? Why is –

She remembers.

_Edward._

Waking to Edward.

Oh God, she _kissed_ him.

"Edward asked to be here, but I thought under the circumstances you might like a little space."

Carlisle wraps a blood pressure cuff around her arm. "He told me that he may have behaved a little inappropriately on seeing you alive again."

Bella watches and waits as the black cuff inflates and a cold metal stethoscope is placed on her pumping veins. A dead vampire listening to her living heart.

Edward has no beating heart. And yet he told her – she's sure of this – that he loves her.

The full horror of what she has done grips hold of her. She sees it all for what it is. Has to face it. Because there's only so far you can deny what is surely ridiculous and impossible when she's been told straight out and kissed like _that. _

He loves her.

She's called it friendship. That she's wanted to help him be more human. Be happy.

The shameful truth is that she has feelings for him too. Out of control feelings that car crashed into her the day she first saw him at the swing dance class. And she's done everything to repress those feelings because they are so wrong, so hurtful, so dangerous.

No point denying it anymore.

She wanted to be kissed.

And yes, he's a big asshole for kissing her when she's vulnerable and lying there after being beaten up by a vengeful vampire. But quite frankly it doesn't make any difference.

Because her love for Jacob should be so absolute that there should be no room for anyone else, anything else in her heart.

She's insufficient. Broken. Undeserving.

She's betrayed Jacob utterly.

Not just in kissing Edward. But truly, in her heart of hearts, by loving someone else _too._

"_Where's Jacob?" _ Bella says again, thickly, her throat constricted and full of tears.

Carlisle gestures to the side table, where propped up between the glass of water and the vase of white flowers is an envelope that says 'Bella.'

"Can I have it, please?"

Carlisle hands it over, and Bella holds it in her right hand. This is when she realises how useless she is, and is going to be, for many weeks to come. Stupid faulty human. She can't even open an envelope. Tears glide down her cheeks.

"May I?" Carlisle slices open the envelope neatly and hands it to her. "Just call when you need us. We'll hear you,"

Bella nods. Waits. Stares at the folded stationery in her hand. Where did Jake even get proper letter writing paper from? Since when does he even write letters?

She's expecting recrimination. A 'Dear John' letter of the worst kind. Total condemnation or even the annihilation of the treaty. But not this.

_**Bella,**_

_**Sorry is not enough. I messed up. It's my job to protect you, and I screwed up. I'm going to find a way to end Victoria and then stop this imprint before it kills you, I swear.**_

_**Jacob**_

She sits and reads the words over and over.

Jacob Black and his goddamn good intentions.

Jacob Black always putting her first

Jacob Black off to hunt Victoria

Gone

Alone.

How many incorrect things can one person write in such a short space anyway? She wants to take him by the scruff of his neck and shake him and say _We protect each other, idiot! Nobody screwed up! Don't do anything stupid! _

But the words she keeps honing in on the most make her start to quiver.

_**Stop this imprint**_

_**Stop this imprint**_

_**Stop this imprint**_

How would you stop an imprint?

Unless…

"Edward!" She howls.

He's there by her side in less than three seconds.

"You have to stop him. He's gone after Victoria. You have to find him, bring him back. He's going to get himself killed." Her voice rises hysterically.

Nothing else matters right now.

"Sshh..shhh…of course." His lips are pressed to her hair, but Bella tries to push him away.

"Please, Edward. Go find him. _Please." _

Just like that he's gone in a rush of air and Bella is left, choking in her sobs, and suddenly Jasper is there, and Alice is holding her hand.

"Alice – can you see him? Is he okay?"

The dark haired girl shakes her head in confusion.

"Bella – I'm sorry. I've never been able to see any of the wolves."

Bella presses one hand to her face, twists by accident and pain sears down her side.

Then something else: a seed speck of hope in her heart, that starts small and blossoms, untwining and curling around her heart with a growing rush of love and relief.

"Is that better?" Jasper asks.

Bella looks at his passive face, golden hair and golden eyes just like Edward.

Then Carlisle is there, debating over whether to give her more morphine, asking Jasper to make sure that Bella stays calm, that she must stay calm, that he's not to leave her.

"But what if…" Jasper glances at Alice. He's never been one to spend extended time around the humans.

"You won't" Alice says firmly. "Not while I'm here." She plants herself down on the bed with Bella, smiles impishly and then takes Bella's hand.

It reminds her so much of Edward.

"They'll come back safe, Bella. They are big boys. Emmett's gone too. Maybe they'll even catch Victoria this time."

"Nothing like a bit of healthy male competition to spur on the victor," Jasper's mouth twists in amusement, and Alice glares at him.

"A little consideration for the patient, Jass."

"What do you think I'm doing here?" His eyes are sparkling with droll humor. "Besides, you saw what was going to happen the minute the wolves brought her here…didn't see you rushing to stop it," he adds in an undertone from the corner of his sardonic mouth.

"Stop what?" Bella asks.

Alice doesn't meet her eyes, but glares at Jasper.

"I didn't see the point in prolonging the inevitable, that's all."

"What's inevitable?" Bella asks.

Alice looks at her then. "You really want to know?"

"Don't Alice." Jasper's smile is gone. "You are messing with my work here."

"Well I can't just leave; you might get hungry. Besides, she wants to know, don't you, Bella?"

"Yes."

"You don't know what you are asking" Jasper protests. "Alice don't do this."

"It's only because I love her." Alice turns and then says, quickly –"and she knows it too, anyway. Edward and her are meant to be together."

"You've…seen that?" Bella's heart clenches, despite Jasper's emotional manipulation.

Alice looks Jasper in the eye. "Yes."

Bella feels the air in the room visibly relax, as tides of euphoria reach into her every emotional crevasse. She leans back. She's exhausted from all this _feeling. _She just wants to give over control to someone more powerful than her who can take this mess like a tangled ball of yarn and pick it carefully apart. She remembers then, a prayer she was taught by her Grandma when she was a little girl.

_As I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep. _

_If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take._

"Jasper…" she asks. "Do vampires have Gods?"

Jasper's face twists in a sort of smile.

"Haven't you noticed? We _are_ Gods, Bella."


	20. Healthy Male Competition

**A/N: A few chapters ahead now, so the next few won't be too long in arriving this time, I promise. **

* * *

><p>On Hurricane Ridge the air is still. Hemlocks and firs wear a dusting of icing sugar. The sun burns like an eerie golden orb at eye level on the mountain range. Jake sits, bare feet on snow and listens to the sound of two vampires approaching from lower down the mountain. One of the voices is yodelling so he suspects it's not Victoria, who he knows has also been recently in the area.<p>

How freaking far does he have to go to be left the hell alone?

He stands, finds himself on a bare patch where his radiator-like body heat has melted away snow. The smell of sugar and decay makes his nostrils curl in disdain.

"Gnarly mountain, dude." Emmett Cullen is beaming at him, carrying a backpack and wearing expensive outdoor winter wear.

I mean, really. Do they always have to look like they are posing for a GAP advert?

Edward smirks, looks him up and down as if in response to his thoughts. His eyes say "Well look at your scrawny hand-me down cut offs" but his unsmiling mouth just says "Jacob," tilting his head in greeting, looking around at the scenery as if utterly bored.

"How did you find me?" Jacob's voice is resigned.

"You stink man. You've just got to follow your nose. It's like wet dog all over this mountain and right across the National Park." Emmett laughs.

"Right back at you, leech. What exactly is it that you want?"

"We're on a mission for the little lady." Emmett raises an eyebrow. "She's missing her favourite puppy."

Jacob sighs. He doesn't need to be told. He can feel a burning in his chest, a shortness of breath that starts in his solar plexus and rips like scorching fire through his veins. A warning from the imprint: _don't stray too far from me._ Bella is to the south-west, behind the photism of the setting sun, like a desert apparition that only a dessicated traveller would follow.

_Puppy is about right._

He's on a short leash. That it's Bella he's tethered to is not the issue though – she's his partner, his equal, his future Alpha female. It's what has happened to her because of him that has got him so messed up. It's his fault – all of this.

_I should have protected her better._

Even from this distance Jacob can feel the ghosting of every little broken bone in her hand, exactly where her elbow is shattered. It makes him want to rub his own, even though he can sense her healing too.

_You are broken so I am broken. That's just how it rolls. _

Part of his wolf wants to lick every one of her wounds, and the other part craves the hunt where once and for all he can rip every damn limb off Victoria's stone body and send her _burningburningburning_ into fiery oblivion.

"Better off where I'm at." He growls.

Edward shakes his head. "If that's true, then she deserves better than you."

Jacob's eyes narrow.

_What?_

The challenge in Edward's eyes is blatant, like one dominant male squaring up to another for control of the pack.

"And who are you to say what is best for Bella, you parasite?"

They stand pitted against each other on the sunset ridge, silhouetted against a sky exploding with rainbow colours:

Coffee coloured Quileute…

…versus marmoreal ice.

"Maybe you are what is best for her right now, but I'd like to think that it's not always going to be that way." Edwards voice is lulling; lubricious.

"Stop talking in riddles." Jacob is on his feet and advancing towards Edward, who raises his hands, half-deferentially.

"Have you considered that she is only with you because of the imprint?"

"Have you considered that there's a steep cliff over there that would be perfect to throw you off right now?" Jacob retorts through clenched teeth. "This is none of your business, bloodsucker."

"I'm making it my business. We protect her too, Jacob. Better than you have anyway."

Jacob winces.

Edward half-smiles in triumph to himself. It's easy to hit a nerve when you can get inside someone's head and hear every thought clear as a bell.

"I'd still rather she was with us than with you."

"Oh," Edward coolly replies. "Then what are you doing still out here?"

Jacob starts to walk. Edward follows like a flash to stand in front of him again.

"Go to her. Fine. But don't be too hard on her. It's not her fault." Edward says quietly.

"Ed" Emmett says warningly. "This aint the time or the place for a showdown." He puts his hand on Edward's arm, but his brother brushes it away. Keeps looking at Jacob.

"It's better he knows. What if he were to phase and hurt her when she tells him?"

"Tells. ." Jacob says through gritted teeth.

"I'm talking about Bella and myself, Jacob. She showed me this morning that you are not the only one she has feelings for." Edward's voice is mellisonant with sweetness as he delivers his death-knell.

Jacob visibly reels.

"Liar."

Edward just keeps looking at him steadily, while Jacob's mind whirrs.

_Rewinds._

_Bella's voice:_

"Their house is spotless, it's about the cleanest place I've ever seen…"

"…I didn't know. I didn't know. I just want to be normal..."

"…Maybe I'm meant to stop you guys fighting..."

_Stop, already._

They stand eyeball to eyeball, glaring.

"Whoa, dudes. Time out. Let's leave this little discussion till later, okay? We found the lost dog. Time to go home. End of." Emmett's burly body steps between them, smile placating.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way." Jacob growls. "Or not." His wolf is on the edge, and treaty or no treaty, phasing near Edward and seeing his head pop off would be damn satisfying. He quivers, and Edward takes a convenient step backwards, enough to avoid the rip and shimmer of air.

As man becomes wolf.

And wolf is focused on the kill.

Lunges.

Macerates an arm.

Feels the other grip his furry chest.

The wolf shakes off Emmett and sinks his teeth into Edward and then sky and snow is all one. There is a precipitous moment where they teeter out on Hurricane Ridge - poised like a butterfly with a just-broken wing - then the two of them skewer inevitably into the void.

Snow. Rock. Fur. Sky. Snow. Rock. Fur. Sky. Snow. Rock. Fur. Sky. Snow. Rock. Fur. Sky.

There's a point in the head over paws whirl of falling down a mountain side when fighting has to become holding on to each other. Edward scrapes down through snow against the mountain rock, carving out a stone gulley with his adamantine back. Jacob hits every damn tree, felling each trunk with the combined force of their bodies. An avalanche of snow churns in their wake, a cloud that follows them, becoming a shapeless beast with a tail of smoke, roaring and rumbling until they find themselves on the valley floor, cracking the earth where they lie under layers of crushing ice crystals.

The sound of female laughter fills the valley.

Jacob tries to opens his eyes but his body feels like it's trapped in cement after being put through a washing machine. He's phased back human somewhere in the roly-poly descent and is straining to breathe.

Then there is dizzy blue sky and Edward Cullen's impassive face pulling him out, then he looks down at himself and sees that he's naked, with warm blood from his head pinking the snow like raspberry ice. He barely takes in Edward's form with arms askew like a vandalised statue.

Both of them lie there for a moment listening to the crazy laughter emanating from a mocking sky. Girlish laughter, almost child-like.

Victoria is standing on the brow of the hill opposite Hurricane Ridge.

"What a lot of fuss over a silly human girl. You can do so much better boys," she calls out.

"Yeah? Try me for size," roars Emmett, as he clambers down the mountain side and across the valley floor in pursuit.

"You'll have to catch me first" Victoria smiles mockingly, then with an exaggerated flick of her crimson curls she's leaping away and only her laughter remains echoing around the valley.

Edward pops an arm back into place. Jacob's head stops bleeding. They look at the state of each other.

Jacob imagines the scene if a pile of snowshoeing tourists were to come happenstance upon them right now. Edward, knees and elbows sticking through his shredded clothes. Himself -naked in a pile of bloody snow.

"I think it's fair to say that we're being fairly counter-productive." Edward says wryly.

"You think?" Jacob looks to where Victoria and Emmett have disappeared. "Are we going after her?"

"We could try, but I suspect there's no point. Jasper thinks she has a gift for evasion, and it's the only thing that makes sense. How else would she keep getting away from all of us so easily?"

"You could have shared that little gem sooner. How are we supposed to catch someone who is as slippery as soap?"

"We need to stop _trying_ to catch her. Wait for her to come to us."

Jacob lies back and feels his body start to mend itself. It might not be fatal, but that doesn't stop it being bloody sore. He glances at Edward out of the corner of his eye. The mountain has given him the beating up that the conniving leech deserved, but Jacob isn't sorry he took the fall either.

"You are not the only one who feels responsible. Who feels guilty. I promised to be there too." Edward speaks quietly, as if he's talking to thin air.

Jacob doesn't reply.

It seems like an age that they wait there in the silence. One heartbeat. One warm breath rising from heaving lungs. Stone and flesh, neither feeling the cold as they should. Lycanthropy and Vampyrism. Neither as mortal as they should be.

Emmett Cullen returns, unsmiling. His pale dimpled face grimaces with the untold story of a failed chase. "Dang. Why isn't Alice seeing her coming?" He runs an exasperated hand through his icy curls.

Edward grimaces. "It's as if Victoria knows about her, is deliberately avoiding making any decision so that we can't see what she'll do next or where she'll be. And that's really worrying."

"How would she know about you anyway? Surely you guys don't go about advertising yourselves?" Jacob frowns, thinking absurdly of Alice as a gypsy fortune teller at a Vampire social club, with vamps lined up round the corner to hear her dumb ass predictions about their dead end futures. _Roll up, roll up, Come and see the freak tell your future. _

Edward is thoughtful. "You are right. Victoria knows too much."

"Maybe she's met another vamp." Emmett raises a perfect eyebrow. "Someone who knows about us."

"This changes things. We should get back. That is," Edward shoots a look at Jacob, "if you are finished being such a lachrybozo out here in the forest."

"Oh, I'm finished all right." Jacob shoots daggers at him…

…Twists and shimmers…

…Bursts into russet wolf and tears across the valley floor, kicking up fresh snow.

"Beat your furry ass home." Emmett calls with a smirk, pulling ahead.

Jacob growls low in his throat.

And then Edward Cullen is beside him, speaking into his ear:

"You are a good man, Jacob Black. But if you let slip for a second, know that I'll be there for her."


	21. Home Run

**A/N Just a wee one here. Last few chapters the character staged an uprising and charged through the barricades without authorial permission. **

**Thus -**

**Emmett: So, you know you need me to go along with Edward to get Jacob, right?**

**Author: Well, actually, I don't, thanks.**

**Emmett: I'm coming anyway.**

**Author: Uh...okay, then.**

***some time later***

**Author: Thank God you are here, Emmett, otherwise this chapter would never have worked.**

**Emmett: [smiling smugly] Told you so. **

* * *

><p>February in the Olympic National Park stays in the water shadow, the low ground often free from the snow that habitually clothes the higher ground. The rising fog and lowering clouds breed and become one. The trees, immersed in constant liquid, open their pores and grow fast and strong. Elk roam the Hoh valley, nuzzling trees that bow under their mossy burdens. It's a good hunting ground as any, winter quiet on the tourist trails. A place to run fast, on four paws.<p>

Leech stench like sweetened sulphur adds itself to the smell of wet moss. Jake's fur feels gritty, bloody and matted, like he's just rolled down a mountain top and picked up tiny bits of shale and scree from beneath the snow that have wedged in his skin and are still working their way out post-phase.

Oh yeah, because he _has_ just rolled down a mountain. Used like a Quileute surfboard by a filthy bloodsucker, no less.

Jacob Black the man, has a treaty to obey; Jacob Black the wolf, whose mate has been threatened, subsumes him.

It's dusk. The best time for a wolf to hunt.

The vampire called Emmett reminds him of a black bear: all lumbering teeth and claws. He clearly relishes teasing the wolf on his tail, letting Jacob slip close enough to him, then turning with a lazy grin and shouting out:

"_Come on pup."_

"_Heel, boy!"_

"_No stopping for a wee now."_

What Emmett is too dumb to realise is that Jake is _playing_ with him.

He's not a jot slower than bloody Emmett Cullen. He just likes taking prey down by the rump. Cullen's going to return home with a bite out of him, and 500 pounds per square inch of crushing pressure can do some damage even to a marble ass.

Jaws widen, saliva flows, then Jacob's mouth is batted away by lightning sharp reflexes.

He recoils at the smack.

"Behave yourself, dog," Edward Cullen hisses.

Where the hell did he come from?

Jacob falls back a little, blood in his mouth dripping then coagulating. He shakes his head to clear it, his mind dazed and emptied.

Time passes as he races through the towering trees. The first star appears.

Ahead of him there is the oddest of monologues.

"Well that's an interesting idea," Edward Cullen is saying. "Maybe that's why we can't catch her…Yes, it could be…Jasper might know."

It's like listening to one side of a telephone conversation, and that's when Jacob Black realises.

_Edward Cullen is a bloody fucking mind reader._

The instant he lets that thought shout out loud from his furry brain, Edward turns, and looks like he's about to spit like an angry cat.

"Lalalalalalalalalala…"Jacob immediately tries to fill his mind with random noise. Feels his heart pound. Tries to stop himself from _thinking_, dammit. Fills his mind with Bella's face. Bella under him in bed – oh no, don't go there…Music!

_That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane -Lenny Bruce is not afraid._

Maybe the entire REM back catalogue will keep him at bay until he has a chance to rip off Cullen's head. But how do you get to him if he knows you are coming? Dammit.

_Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn -world serves its own needs, regardless of your own needs. Feed it up a knock,speed, grunt no, strength no. _

Bastard knew. Image: Edward buying car parts in Whitehead's. "Hey, if you're looking for a decent carburator…"

_Ladder structure clatter with fear of height,down height. Wire in a fire, represent the seven games in a government forhire and a combat site. Left her, wasn't coming in a hurry with the furies__  
><em>_breathing down your neck._

Bastard knew all the time. Image: rainy day in the garage. Oil on too-white hands. "Oh Bella Swan. She's your girlfriend?"

_Team by team reporters baffled, trump, tethered__crop. Look at that low plane! Fine then. Uh oh, overflow, population,__common group, but it'll do. Save yourself, serve yourself. World serves its__  
><em>_own needs, listen to your heart bleed._

Bastard got inside his head. Peeping Tom.

_Tell me with the rapture and the__reverent in the right - right. You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright__light, feeling. Pretty. Psyched._

Bastard got inside her head. Made her do things. That's how. Not. Her. Fault!

_It's the end of the world as we know it.__It's the end of the world as we know it.__It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fi-ne._

Jacob pulls ahead with a burst of speed and knocks Emmett Cullen sideways, sends him flying into his brother so that both tumble to the forest floor.

He looks over his shoulder and barks out a laugh.

Gives a message loud and clear in his thoughts:

_Thanks Cullen. You just taught me how to beat you. _

_Now if you'll excuse me, _

_I'm going to go and get my girl. _


	22. Before You Say Anything

When Jacob phases wolf to man and bursts through the front door of the Cullen home he's pumped to find Bella, get her the hell out of there and safely back to the res at all costs.

What he's not prepared for is the Norma Rockwell-esque family montage that greets him as he stands panting, naked, and covered in dry blood.

"Jake?" Bella squeaks, the silver soup spoon in her good hand clattering to the ground. Esme smiles graciously and retrieves it, wiping the spoon on the white pinny covering her blue flowered dress. Jacob's caught her serving Bella warm bread as she's seated at the head of a long table. Gathered around the table with Bella, but rather lacking in tableware of their own, are Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Carlisle. They are all dressed in impossibly impractical designer clothes: pale blues, creams, beiges and khakis that match the white tablecloth and soft flowing curtains.

Rosalie looks at him and openly laughs. Jasper covers Alice's eyes with his hands, smirking.

"Jass, it's nothing I've not seen before…" Alice protests, batting him away. "Although it would be good to be able to SEE occasionally before a mutt wanders butt naked into my house."

"But that would spoil all the fun," Jasper smirks.

Jacob meanwhile has grabbed a very expensive looking cushion and is holding it strategically over his man-bits. Bella has risen awkwardly from the table, assisted a little by a solicitous Carlisle.

"Jake, what's happened to you? Was this Victoria?" Bella's fear is written on her face. "I felt…sore earlier."

There is a snort from the doorway and Emmett appears, followed closely by Edward, who looks slightly dishevelled but not nearly so badly clad.

"Victoria my ass. Got to catch that bitch first." Emmett hunkers over and drops a kiss on Rosalie, then wanders away to the couch to fondle the remote control.

"I'm just – can I – _Bella_?" Jacob gives a plea and gestures outside.

"Let me get you a shirt and some pants." Carlisle blurs away and immediately returns with clothes still in their plastic wrappings. "They won't smell quite as distasteful to you as ones we have worn."

"Um…thanks."

"Would you like to join us for some soup?" Esme smiles brightly. "We made corn chowder for Bella."

Bella's eyes flicker between Edward and Jacob. Her eyes pick out the anomalies from Edward: an arm that still looks a little awkward; the faint outline of a scar on his cheekbone; slightly mussed hair. His eyes, so dark today, refuse to meet her questioning gaze.

"Have you two been _fighting_?" Her voice rises in annoyance.

Jacob, busy pulling on clothes, mutters something indistinguishable and potentially rude.

Jasper stretches his arms behind his head and smiles indolently, as if ready to watch a particularly entertaining show given by small children.

Rosalie arches an eyebrow, leans forward, a gleam in her eye.

Esme tuts. "Edward…" Her disappointed 'Mom' voice.

"Bella. I'm sure Jacob will wish to speak with you privately and see that you are recovering from your injuries." Carlisle nods to the rest of his family.

"Oh, do we have to?" Alice pouts. "I wanna hear who won." She looks at Edward. Tilts her head and grins. "Oh, that's funny, Edward."

Carlisle tilts his head, mock-stern, until his family all rise from their seated positions and file slowly out the room.

Emmett and Jasper are last to go, the former muttering about a replayed game he's missing and the latter wearing a wide shit-eating grin.

Then Bella is alone with Jacob, nervously twisting a strand of her hair and looking at her shoes… the floor…her damn soup bowl.

"Before you say anything, I don't want to know what you've done. I know it's not your fault."

Bella opens her mouth to reply –

"Wait! First-" Jacob strides over and envelopes her in a warm and loving kiss that pours all the passion he can muster into her small frame. "How are you feeling?"

"Better now you are here." Bella lets her good arm snake around his neck to feel the dusty hair at the nape of his neck. "I thought you were gone. That note…" She grimaces.

"Stupid. Leaving you here with them. Selfish. The wolf was calling me to hunt down the monster that had hurt his imprint, and the rest of me was screaming out that he should never have put you in this position in the first place. You didn't ask for any of this."

"I would ask for you, over and over again, even if it meant a thousand broken fingers."

Her wide brown eyes, too-pale skin, bruised mouth.

"I hate that he's touched you-"

Bella shudders involuntarily.

"Jake, please-"

"He had no right."

"Blame me, Jake. It was me too."

"No, don't believe that. He wants you to think that – it's all part of the act. Rosalie told me what he can do. He can read minds, Bella. All that time, getting to know us. I go into Whiteheads for a part for the Rabbit, and he's there, and there's this cosmic connection or something – like everything he said was the perfect thing to say. The leech burrowed his way into_ my _mind, and he's done the same to you. Every thought you ever had, he was there, listening in."

Bella pales even further until she matches the tablecloth.

"Then he waits, until you are here alone with him without me. Damn it, Bella. Can't you see?"

"I hear what you are saying, Jake. It's a lot to take in. I still can't help but feel that I've failed you. Betrayed us."

"Honey, just let me take you home."

"Okay," Bella nods. "But before I go, I just need to speak to him one last time, Jake. I – I have to know. I want to hear it from him."

Jacob scowls. Everything inside him is protesting at this. They should get the hell out. Now. He's probably listening in to this entire conversation, both with his vampire hearing and his outrageous telepathy.

"Ten minutes, Jake…Please." Bella's chocolate brown eyes plead. "And I must say thank you to Esme and Carlisle."

Jake rolls his eyes.

"They've been very kind," Bella explains gently.

"Nothing that Sam and Emily or just about anyone on the res wouldn't have done." Jacob retorts.

"I know. I'm very lucky." Bella bites her lip, nods, then plants a gentle kiss on the side of his jaw.

"Okay," Jacob sighs in resignation. "I'm going to see if Emmett will lend me his Jeep to get you home."

* * *

><p>Inside the music room Edward is sitting at the piano. He turns as Bella enters.<p>

"Before you say anything, I was out of line and I can only apologise for my selfishness." Edward's face is blank, an expressionless canvas. "So you are coming to say goodbye? To ask me if it's true I can read minds?"

Bella grimaces. "He was right. You were listening."

"I was."

"So tell me, Edward. They say everyone deserves to tell their side of the story." There is a note of disappointed bitterness in her voice.

"What can I say to make you understand? I'm not an _angel,_ I'm the worst kind of monster. You want to know all about me? Then let me tell you. I _can_ read minds Bella. I can read every single mind I've ever encountered, except yours. And I can manipulate and violate them all. Except yours."

Bella muses over this for a moment. Jacob was right, at least in part.

"If you are telling the truth – and believe me, there's no guarantee of that for me – why can't you read my mind?" Bella looks utterly baffled. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"Bella, I tell you that I can read minds and you ask if there is something wrong with _you_? I'm the freak here, Bella. I'm the one who got inside Jacob's mind, and befriended him, and used everyone around you to get close to you. I'm a vampire. I'm designed for you to be drawn in, by my scent, my looks, my voice. What you are feeling for me isn't real."

Bella shakes her head. Despite his assertion, she can't help her intuition that it's not just the vampire pulling her in. It's him. It's the man who plays the piano and makes her feel like he's tinkering with her soul. It's the man who talks to her about literature, and sometimes smiles though he's so obviously a soul in torment. There's this twisted part of her that just can't see him as the enemy.

"Edward, tell me something. What does it mean, that you can't read my mind?"

"Carlisle thinks it might be connected to Alice's vision. It's the only thing that makes you different to other humans. ..besides how I feel about you of course."

"Is that why you 'feel' this way about me? Because you can't read my thoughts?" Bella can't imagine a single other reason why.

Edward smiles. "Believe me, it is very…restful, being around you. But no. That's not the reason. It's just you, Bella."

"I'm not so special."

"I could call a few witnesses to the stand who would attest otherwise."

The silence fills the room.

"It's times like this I wish I _could_ read your mind." Edward muses.

"I'm thinking that, even if you are as bad as you say you are, that I feel sorry for you. You choose to be in pain every day of this half-life you are living instead of taking human life and that's really courageous."

"I don't want your pity, Bella."

"I just see what's there to be seen."

The air hums with electricity between them.

"Is that the vampire thing you were telling me about? Are you trying to pull me towards you?"

"No…I'm not trying. You would know if I was trying because there wouldn't be any space at all between us right now. Don't tempt me Miss Swan."

Bella smiles, despite herself.

"I think I'm in enough trouble right now with Jake without digging an even deeper hole for myself. "

"Once again, you take the blame on your shoulders. You are just a mortal, Bella. It's me who should know better."

"I'm _hurting_ Jacob. Me. He's done nothing wrong. Ever. You might have manipulated him – and who knows – maybe I might even believe you that you wanted to be friends with him – it looked pretty real to me – but I'm the one who _really_ betrayed his trust. I'm his imprint. I shouldn't be able to see anyone else except him. That's just the way it works in the wolf pack."

"And yet you see me."

"Yes," admits Bella. "I see you."

The sun casts a golden glow in the white room, illuminating everything for a moment.

"When I go home tomorrow, I can't be around you anymore though. Jacob needs me too much. And I have a lot to prove."

Edward nods painfully. "It's the right decision. I'm not meant for you, Bella. At least, not now."

"Not now?"

Edward looks at her then, his eyes full of something like hope.

"There are so many impossible things in this world, Bella. Like the glacier lilies that grow through the ice on Hurricane Ridge. I won't say never. Forever is a long long time. I'll always be waiting for you."

Bella's eyes fill with tears as the vampire crosses the room in a blur and places cold lips on her forehead. It's a touch of ice, then he steps back and returns to the piano.

Bella exits the room awkwardly, shuts the door and leans on the other side, utterly drained. Listening to the lilting rise and fall of his melody.

It's how she'll imagine him, still sitting there, playing. Fingers endlessly running over the keys, without boredom or hunger. She shivers.

In the front room, Carlisle and Esme are waiting for her, already aware that she is going home.

"It's been lovely having you here, Bella. You know you'll be welcome anytime." Esme opens her arms and takes Bella into her cold embrace.

"We'll be guarding your house Bella, even if you wish not to be here with us." Carlisle looks at her, his eyes full of sincerity.

"Thank you" Bella says. "You've been more than kind."

Jacob holds her good hand like she's being pulled into a whirlpool and he's her only hope of survival. Barely daring to breathe until he's hurried her out of the door and into Emmett's Jeep, he doesn't allow himself to relax until he burned down the long driveway and out onto the road to Forks.

Back at the Cullen house, with the sound of Edward's ethereal playing from the music room, Carlisle and Esme stand outside, holding hands, looking out to where Bella and Jacob have recently left.

"It's difficult," Carlisle speaks aloud, "To keep things from you, Edward. To not think thoughts around you. There are very few things I can't immediately share. But sometimes it's necessary."

Esme looks at him questioningly.

The piano stops with a sudden jolted discordance.

A sibilant hiss emanates from inside the building.

"Carlisle?" Esme asks, her voice anxious.

Edward appears, blurring to a stand-still beside the two vampires.

"Are you certain?" He asks.

Carlisle nods, turns to his wife, squeezes her hand, and then captures Edward's eyes with a look full of both pity and concern.

"Bella is pregnant."


	23. Stuff You Should Know

**A/N Fancied a bit of Charlie, who seems quite determined to step into this story. Well, it's about time he intervened, doncha think? **

* * *

><p>Charlie relies on routine. It's been his bachelor's friend for many a long year. Call him a stick-in-the-mud, but when he gets home from the graveyard shift he wants a shower, a Rainier, a checked shirt and a comfy couch.<p>

Being a police officer in a small town has a rhythm all of its own; a steady chain of Friday night puke-stained shirts, bruises from folks resisting arrest and paperwork headaches. As Charlie likes to say to new recruits: "You've gotta wade through it to get to where you're goin."

Which in his case as Chief of Police is being the person at the artery point, thinking and waiting, finger on the pulse of life in Forks.

He is, as they like to say_, The Guy Who Knows Stuff._

_Item One:_ Lyle Barker will always end up punch drunk on the night of the anniversary of his third wife's death. So Charlie radios in every January 25th for young Carl Aspen to do a sweep along South Forks Avenue until he finds him slumped by the side of the road.

_Item Two:_ If on a Saturday night at 2am, sixteen year old Wayne Hill is found rolling joints with shaking hands, then it means his Step-Dad is beating on his mom again - perky Dianne who serves coffee at the diner. So Charlie races over to 586 Winter Crescent hoping for once that he can catch the bastard at it.

_Item Three:_ He knows his doughnut commando colleague Sabian Fry will always leave a trail of cigarette butts in the parking lot. Except when the ball breaking Chief of Police from Port Angeles is visiting. So those are the days Charlie walks in wearing his regulation face and brandishing the emergency stash of paperwork he keeps in the cruiser for such occasions.

It sends the new recruits into a spin, as they exhale their nerves, suck in under their breath: _"howthehelldidheknowthat?"_

But The Guy Who Knows Stuff routine just doesn't cut it when it comes to having a teenage daughter.

When Bella comes home with a busted up hand from 'getting it shut in a car door' Charlie grimaces. Bella's clumsiness is legendary. Less publicised is the way she confesses lies with her eyes and her mouth.

Which means that she was probably doing something she shouldn't have been doing when she got hurt.

With Jacob Black, most likely.

And that's where it gets complicated.

Charlie's spent his life with Billy – seen him become a Dad, bring up the twins, and Jacob. Watched him lose Sarah and end up in a wheelchair. Charlie couldn't be more invested in the future happiness of the Blacks – or prouder or happier that Bella has chosen to fall in love with Jacob Black.

If she was, like, 30.

Dammit, there's so much of _him,_ there in Bella. The way he worshipped Renee, had her so high up on a pedestal that there was no way she wasn't going to wobble off and fall. He never used to want to let Renee out of his sight. It actually used to _hurt._ He looked at her the way that Bella looks at Jacob. He gets it, he really does. But he doesn't have to like it.

What can he say?

He's not just _The Guy Who Knows Stuff._

He's also a Dad.

Jacob's built like a storm trooper. He's shot up so fast overnight that one minute he was a little kid with glossy long hair and the next moment he's like a hunting animal in repose, with dark watchful eyes searching out his daughter. Oh, he's still got the easy sunny smiles, but when Bella's around it's like there's an invisible rope attached to her, and he's just wanting to _touch _her all the time, as if to reassure himself that she's not going to vanish into thin air. Whispered conversations in corners, holding hands, staring intently.

Sometimes he'll catch Bella crying, or hear her having nightmares.

He can't help but wonder whether he's doing enough as a Dad.

Even when it's clear they've done way more than just hug and kiss, he's reluctant to phone Renee to share his concerns. He's more of a wait it out and hope it will sort itself out kinda guy.

And he trusts Bella.

He just doesn't want to be a grandpa just yet, is all.

So he waits, until the day that one busted up hand and a lie in her eye forces his hand.

A good cop always knows when to call for back-up.

Renee is high-pitched and irate on the telephone: _How long has this been going on?...What the hell, Charlie, why didn't you phone me straight away?... This is just the kind of thing that happens when a teenage girl lives with her incommunicative father… I just knew this would happen if she didn't have me around…What on earth were you thinking?"_

Charlie winces, holds the phone away slightly and sighs, waiting for it all to be over. He'd rather be at his desk with the entire community's soiled pants drunks reeling around in the cells.

Later, he's washing the dishes in the kitchen with Bella, as she sits at the laptop typing out her homework with one painstaking hand.

"I could write you a note for that, y'know."

Bella rolls her eyes.

"Just sayin'"

Charlie hovers, sudsy cloth in one hand.

Bella looks up.

"Ants in your pants, Dad?"

"Uh…well, just wondering…how you would feel about visitin' your Mom for a little bit."

Bella shakes her head, turns back to the clack-clackety-clack of the laptop.

"I have school Dad. Semester's not over –"

"You've just had an accident. You could take your school books and go sit on the beach and study. It'd be good for you."

Charlie touches Bella's shoulder lightly and watches as she winces.

"Car door seems to have wrenched your shoulder some," he says drily. Catches her eye.

"And your mouth." There is still the ghost of her purple shadow from her lips, where she claims to have hit the deck. She's such a horrible liar.

"Is this about Jacob?" Bella sits back and looks up at him. Charlie exhales, turns back to the sink and picks up a dish towel.

"You mean is this about me catching my daughter half naked coming out of the woods with my best friend's teenage son?" Charlie gives her a look that says _Waddayathink? _

Bella has the decency to blush.

"I can't just _go_."

Her tone of voice is so certain, so final. Just like Charlie knew it would be.

"One week, Bella. The only time I've heard of you being apart was when you are up at the Cullen place with your other friends, and even that's stopped now. It's not – healthy."

A look of panic darts across Bella's face.

"Dad, I'm happy. I _need_ Jake. Please don't make me do this. I'll see Mom in the summer."

Charlie looks at the ceiling, frustration mounting.

"You broke the rules kiddo. It's supposed to be weekend nights only. Dating, remember? Movies and ice-cream and hand holding."

He can't help but notice that Bella's has started to quiver.

Charlie sighs, and against all his instincts reluctantly pulls out a plane ticket from under a stack of bills on the kitchen table.

"Me and your Mom went fifty fifty on this one. Non-refundable. It leaves tomorrow morning."

Bella looks at the plane ticket lying there as if it is some sort of poisonous tropical reptile.

"Tomorrow! Dad, I can't just _leave_ Jake-"

Charlie shakes his head in confusion.

"Why not, Bella? He's not your keeper. This is what we're worried about. He's your first boyfriend, and this is all getting real intense, real fast."

Bella sits with her eyes cast down, feeling them fill up and blur with tears. Charlie sighs.

"I hate being the bad guy here. Anyone else gets told they get a free trip to Florida for the week, they'd be stoked."

He gently picks up the plane ticket and puts it on her lap.

"Better go look out your swimsuit and sunglasses."

Bella puts her unbandaged arm over her face and swipes at the tears, then clumsily gets up from her chair and without looking at Charlie, blindly staggers from the room. He hears her careen up the stairs, and then there is the tell-tale noise of teenage hood - the slam of the bedroom door.

Charlie throws the dish towel onto the floor, covering the plane ticket that is abandoned there. He wants to rip the darn thing up himself.

Except that he's more discomfited by all the stuff he doesn't know:

Item One: What secrets is Bella hiding, and how do you get teenage girls to spill short of official interrogation?

Item Two: How did half the Quileute boys in La Push get muscles, tattoos and stubble seemingly overnight?

Item Three: What sort of hold does Jacob Black have over his daughter?

_Think like the cop you are..._

_...Time for a long overdue visit to the Tribal Council. _

Charlie grimaces as he pulls on his dark blue shirt with the stars on the collar and cinches on his belt.


	24. Two Ripe Cherries

Wolves don't carry mobiles. When you can communicate by telepathy they become a bit defunct. Sometimes, though, on nights like this when Jacob is on patrol, and the phone at Sam and Emily's is just ringing ringing ringing Bella wishes she could contact him. There is, of course, a sort-of-connection as an imprint, a sad echo of each others pain.

So, hoping against hope, Bella sits cross-legged on her bed and wills for Jacob to come to her. She contemplates taking the truck and hot-footing it over to the res anyhow, but she knows that outside there will be someone – vampire or wolf – guarding her and it would be just her luck to put everyone in danger just because she has to get a message to Jacob.

Bella pulls out a duffel bag from under her bed. She hasn't used it since she came to Forks. It still smells of Phoenix: burning asphalt, bromine and sage. She looks at the cactus on her desk in the little room. It has grown a little since she moved here, despite being transplanted from its desert home. Like her, it has learned to adapt to all sorts of changes.

If she'd been told twelve months ago that she's be crying over leaving Forks to spend a week in the sun, she'd have never believed it.

As it grows dark, Bella stands at the window, wondering if there is some sort of signal she can give to whoever is on duty for her tonight.

Sure enough, soon a figure moves forward from the trees, and at first she thinks it's Paul, but then the moon gleams down and catches a reflection of white skin, too-white teeth in a beaming mouth. Emmett Cullen in a grey tracksuit.

Bella waves weakly, smiles, and steps back, pulling down the blind and sitting back on her bed.

Looking through her old summer clothes from Phoenix she finds some jeans shorts, a yellow T-shirt, flip-flops and a soft tan hoodie. She feels exhausted just looking at these relics from the past.

Pulling out her mobile she looks at the screen saver of Jacob. It's one she took of him when they were fooling around in the kitchen, making a rhubarb polenta cake. She'd smeared his nose with rhubarb and he was trying to lick it off with his own tongue. Usually the picture always raises a smile, but tonight it just makes her feel like he's already hundreds of miles away.

The more she thinks about it, the worse she feels, and she curls up on her bed, on her side, clutching her stomach. She's churning inside, nauseous, her mouth feeling like she's chewing on tin. Before she knows it, she's rushing to the toilet and clutching the white ceramic bowl for dear life as she throws up her dinner.

_Oh God._

Sweating, she sits on the cool floor tiles, head in hands. It's the shock. It's actually making her ill. What if imprints just can't be that far apart? What if her body just refuses to get on the plane?

After a few minutes, she starts to feel a little better. Slowly, she traipses back to her room and with a groan pulls her purple covers over her and listens to her i-pod. The side lamp is on, casting shadows on her wall. She listens to her playlist – some Jeff Buckley and Snow Patrol. Everything reminds her of Jake.

…_Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear…_

…_You are the only thing that makes sense…_

Gradually her body quiets and her breathing evens, and she slips into a half slumber. The room is very dark.

Bella doesn't hear when the window slides open and a figure softly drops into her bedroom, but she mutters in her sleep, subconsciously turning towards the source of the noise.

"_Jake…" _

Her eyelids flicker and open to see a perfect, heart shaped face, red eyes, bonfire curls and teeth drawn in a snarling grimace.

There's an awful gulping moment where Bella's scream is frozen in her throat. She knows she _ought _to scream, but is stuck in nightmare paralysis.

Then the face is suddenly gone, in a whooshing, splintering noise, and Bella briefly catches a glimpse of Emmett – still beaming- ripping off Victoria's head with his strong hands.

The crack of her breaking sounds like a statue being dynamited. An expression of shock stays on her face, the eyes glassy like two ripe cherries, the mouth caught as if saying "_Oh!" _The rest of her body falls; broken tree in a storm.

Emmett's grin falters.

"Crap, are you okay, Bella? Did I scare you?"

Bella's mouth moves, fishing for words.

"Holy…is that it? Is she..gone?"

"Well, once I have myself a little bonfire and toast a few marshmallows, she will be. Otherwise her body will start looking for her head and then she'll put herself back together…" Emmett mimes a hand crawling along the floor and makes Psycho knife wielding motions.

Bella stares at the inert body lying on the carpet. She could be an ordinary, if beautiful, woman, lying there on her floor. Velvety green trousers and a cream lace camisole top under a brown suede jacket. Small, really, after all.

"Sorry I had to let her get so close. Made her think I had wandered off for a bit, and she thought she could sneak in." Emmett waggles his eyebrows. "Knew that she wouldn't be able to resist the chance to get you alone again."

"Like a predator going for a wounded animal," Bella says softly to herself.

"Yup. Well, we weren't gonna catch her, that's for sure. She was slippery. But BAM, that felt good." Emmett gives a chuckle, sweeps up Victoria's torso into his arms, and picks up her head by a handful of her hair, then in a macabre imitation of a bridegroom carrying his new wife over the thresh-hold, he leaps out of the window and into the night.

"Make sure there's no fingernails left on the carpet," his voice carries back into the bedroom.

Bella gasps, swings out of bed and puts on the overhead light. Gets down on hands and knees and looks for any trace of Victoria: fingernails, a strand of red hair…

Emmett is joking… right?


	25. What Charlie Saw

What Charlie Saw

When Charlie walks out of the Natural Resource Offices it's dusk, and the water smoke is creeping over the tall green trees like a living entity. He's just spent a frustrating hour with Janene Foster where he talked steroids misuse and she threw back accusations of paternalism with her blackberry eyes.

He's never felt so ridiculously white and male before.

Sighing, he looks across to James Island, where mysterious mounds clothed in scrub trees hunker under the weight of storm clouds. He jangles the keys to the cruiser, thinks of the early start in the morning, then pockets them and starts to walk along the beach.

It's drizzling and the wind ripping raw against his skin, so even with his navy jacket zipped up tight and the collar up like James Dean, he feels as bleached out and stripped bare as the silvered driftwood that dots the empty beach.

He just can't get Bella's reaction that evening out of his head.

He pauses at the first of the weathered pre-fab res homes with their corrugated iron roofs. Notes a stray dog sniffing around the shell of an old rusted car.

Maybe he'll head over to Billy's, chew his ear off for a while.

Charlie is walking down River Drive, the rain worsening so that it's dripping off his forehead and down his nose and chin when he sees two huge fuck-off wolves run across right in front of him. They are going so damn fast that by the time he's ground to a halt and blinked, they have disappeared into the evening gloom.

_Wolves? In this part of the state?_

Charlie's mind whirrs. Not a grey wolf. That was much, much bigger. One russet coloured – the other coal black. But definitely wolves.

He thinks back now to when Wishaw Wilkie called in a few months back claiming to have seen a giant wolf over by Forks Highway. How they'd laughed at the station - _Damn Wilkie. Can't tell the difference between a German Shepherd mutt and a Coyote, he's so short sighted._

Nothing wrong with Charlie Swan's eyesight, though.

He briefly contemplates going back for his gun in the locked box of the cruiser. But by that time…

Charlie shivers, but it's not from the rain and cold.

He's feeling that tingle, the one that happens right before something big goes down. There's electricity in the air all over the res. A too-quiet feeling as if the whole place is collectively holding its breath.

He takes off in the direction the wolves went, and after some considerable crashing about like a fool, finds a well traveled trail through the brush that comes out at Sam Uley's place.

The house is lit up like Christmas.

The porch lights cast out from a pretty veranda filled with pots and knick-knacks, fairy lights twinkling.

At his feet, Charlie sees wolf paw prints in the mud, merging with what looks to be the outlines of large bare human soles.

Huh.

He climbs the porch and put his ear to the door – can hear a buzz of conversation mingling with howls of laughter. Then a commanding voice, and everything goes silent, as if listening.

Charlie raises his eyebrows.

He doesn't even need to knock on the door, suddenly Sam Uley is there, oddly bare chested on such a cold night. Hair wet like he's just had a shower, his face alert and then with a smile plastered under those wary eyes when he sees who is at the door.

"Hey Charlie. What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"Oh, just happened to be passing by. You got a few minutes?" Charlie nods to the interior of the house in the familiar way he has when he wants to gain casual entry to a premises.

"Uh…sure…sure."

As Charlie enters and removes his sopping wet jacket, he can hear the house begin to come alive again, as if whoever is here has decided to 'act normal.'

When he enters the kitchen, Sam's girlfriend Emily is serving out cookies to a bunch of tribal men who have obviously all just put their tops on. Buttoned up wrong. Labels sticking out of ragged tees. The kitchen is hot, more from collective body heat than the open oven door.

"Charlie!" Jacob Black leaps to his feet. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"Hey Jake." Charlie nods to a well muscled man who has just vacated his chair for him – who he realises after the fact is young Embry Call. "Bella's fine."

Paul Lahote gives a smirk, shuffles a deck of cards in front of him.

Charlie smooths his moustache and looks around. Sam and Jacob look back at him expectantly, but the others don't meet his eye. Interesting.

"Looks like you fellas might have a bit of a problem on the res," he begins. "You seen any wolves running wild out here?"

Every head whips up. Every pair of eyes glances at him for a split second, then look pointedly away.

Only Sam Uley laughs, takes a cookie that Emily is offering round.

"Wolves, huh?" Sam's smile doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"Yeah, you know. What you folks are all supposed to be descended from." Charlie says drily. "Now I know this aint my jurisdiction, but it became mine as soon as my daughter started hanging around up here." At this he shoots a look at Jacob, who is frowning at him.

"Maybe it's some joke to you, keeping wolves up here as some sort of emblem of the tribe or something. But these are wild animals, and whatever thing this is that's being bred and kept up here, it's not fit to be around humans. So maybe you could save me a lot of time having to report this by just tellin me what you know."

At this Paul Lahote starts choking on his beer. It takes Charlie a moment to realise that he's being laughed at. It's like a ripple in the room. Then Quil, Embry, Jared, Sam and even Emily are wiping tears of mirth from their eyes.

It's then Charlie realises that he must have read this whole things wrong. They don't even believe him.

"Did, ah Billy put you up to this?" Sam asks, through the laughter. "Cos that was pretty funny, Charlie. The whole 'Cop' speech too. Awesome."

"Yeah man," Embry slaps him on the back.

Jared throws back him head and gives a false howl.

Charlie feels his face getting redder. Turns to the only person in the room who is not cracking up.

"Hey Jake. How about taking a walk?"

Jacob looks like he wants the floor to swallow him up.

"Ooh. Now you're in trouble," Embry mutters under his breath.

"Don't forget the cuffs!" Quil calls after them as Charlie makes his way to the front door.

As they stand outside on the porch, Charlie can see once more the outline of paw prints on the ground.

"You see that?" He points.

"Yeah. Dog prints."

"Big dog." Charlie narrows his eyes as he studies his best friend's son.

Jacob awkwardly scratches the back of his head, nervously taps his fingers on the porch railings.

"Jacob, I don't know what the hell is going on up here. But you should know that there is nothing more important to me than Bella."

Jacob squares his shoulders then, meets Charlie's gaze with a look of total honesty.

"Then that's something we have in common."

Charlie looks Jacob over, then up, and up some more - all the way to about 6"7 or so. The kid has the physique of a pro basketball player.

"You don't act sixteen. And you don't look sixteen," he mutters. "None of you do."

"Maybe that's because I just turned seventeen" Jacob grins, flashing white teeth.

Charlie shakes his head.

"Like I said." His voice, trademark sardonic.

Then Charlie nods curtly and makes his way into the darkness of the res, with no friendly streetlamps to guide the way, feeling ever so much like Little Red Riding Hood on her way through the forest to meet Grandma.

Blame his imagination for playing fairy tales with him, but he could swear that as he retreats from the Uley house he hears the unmistakable sound of a wolf howl rending the cold night air.


	26. Iron Lung

**A/N Just a small update this week. A couple of wee time jumps here and a cliffie. Enjoy.**

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><p>"I should have phased there and then," grumbles Jacob. "There's never going to be a better opportunity than the moment Charlie Swan is standing on top of pawprints."<p>

"That's not your call, Jake" Sam snaps. "He's not one of us. How can you possibly expect him to understand? Not only that, but he's a cop."

"You don't know him," Jacob protests. "Not like I do. He's not a dumb ass. Sooner or later he's going to figure it out. And after tonight you are going to have some conservationist groups running the res looking to cage and tranquilise every wolf they see."

Paul snorts, opens a lazy eye from where he's spread out on the couch. "Have to catch us first."

Sam looks haggard as he blows out a huge gust of air, flopping onto a chair. "What a night. First we miss the showdown with the Bloodsucker, then Leah and Seth phase."

Everyone pauses as Sam speaks Leah's name. It's not like they didn't know it was coming. The two siblings have been running a temperature since Valentine's day. Jacob and Embry that were with them all night, coaxing two shit-scared wolves back into human form. The tirade from Leah was as spectacular as the quiet acceptance that young Seth exhibited upon finding out that they were mutant wolves. But now Sam's going to have to deal with the consequences of having his ex-girlfriend in the pack.

It's Quil who breaks the silence.

"You should have seen Emmett's face. He was seriously loving getting to kill the vamp…Think he was looking for a medal or something." Quil rolls his eyes.

"Well, at least it's over," Jacob comments. "As much as I'd have loved to end that red haired leech myself, it means that Bella is safe. That the Cullens can disappear again. We can all get back to normal. Or at least – what passes for normal around here."

His eyes flicker around the room at his exhausted pack mates.

"Sam…I can go and get Bella now, right?"

Sam's eyes flicker to the clock. It's 4am.

"Get a couple of hours shut eye Jake."

"But Sam-"

"That's an order. I'll need you to take over from Jared with Leah later in the morning. And I'm sure Bella will need her sleep too after what Emmett told us. She must have got a hell of a fright."

At the thought of his imprint, scared, unable to sleep, wanting to talk…Jacob feels his teeth clench, his whole body strain against the alpha timbre of Sam's voice. Then when he meets Sam's steady gaze, he feels himself step down automatically. He bows his head a little, lets his shoulders sag.

Sam's right. He's absolutely shattered, his head full of Leah's raw, cutting emotions. What difference will a couple more hours make?

* * *

><p>Any chance of sleeping is gone.<p>

Bella can't stop shaking.

_It's over. That's it over _she keeps saying to herself.

She goes downstairs and curls up in an armchair, waiting for the sun to rise or for Jake to knock on the door. Surely the wolves will know soon that Victoria's dead, and they'll come for her.

She waits and watches the sun rise, and the birds begin to sing and she feels the world begin to wake from its slumber.

Charlie will be off the graveyard shift soon and pulling up in his cruiser to take her to the airport, and she'll be gone.

A horrible sense of foreboding fills her stomach. The thought of not being near Jake starts to make her lose her breath. Bella rushes to the bathroom, clutching the toilet bowl again and retches bile from her empty stomach, sending waves of pain down the broken side of her body.

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><p>The wolf feels it before he sees it.<p>

She's gone.

It happens very suddenly. Like his heart is ripped out of him at high velocity. He trips over his own paws and sinks to his knees as he phases human, utterly out of control. So that once again Jacob Black finds himself naked in the dirt in the woods beside Bella Swan's house.

And he can't breathe.

His lungs are being crushed, like he's too far under water and all his organs have turned to lead.

Worse than that, he's surrounded by vampires.

Three of them, skin like vellum paper, looking down as he struggles on the ground.

"Hello Jacob" the littlest one says. "I thought you'd be here."


	27. Making a List

**A/N Thanks for all the support from folk who voted for my O/S Crossing the Line to win Popular Vote on TATS Anonymous Musical Prompt Comp. Check it out on my page to see the beautiful banner by don'tcallmeLeeLee that was winner's prize. **

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><p>Like a baby whose umbilical cord has been cut, Bella suddenly finds that she's entirely lost the connection to Jake.<p>

Her sense of the imprint has utterly vanished.

Maybe it's the altitude, or the distance from Jacob, but as soon as the plane takes off from Washington she has a panic attack and is gasping for air. It is what she imagines drowning in quicksand would be like…or getting your windpipe ripped out.

By the time the fasten seat belt sign has been switched off, and the elderly gentleman next to her has made her put her knees between her legs and breathe into a paper bag, some sort of self-preservation instinct kicks in.

_You have to survive this. _

The flight to Jacksonville is turbulent, which doesn't help her vomiting virus. She's mortified at her repeated empty gagging into a paper bag. The elderly gentleman next to her eventually moves to a seat behind and makes way for a sympathetic tanned flight attendant.

"You scared of flying, honey? Here, have a sip of some ice water."

Bella's utter mortification finally overcomes the weakness of her own body. Her breathing settles, she collapses back on the seat and closes her eyes, having drawn enough attention to herself to last a lifetime.

She has two more hours flight time to begin to adjust to life on her own.

As they descend into Jacksonville, Bella sees the curve of the coastline from her airplane window, beads of condensation trickling against the outside pane. Below, the water edges the white sand, mid blue and green. As they get lower she can make out boats with white sails and even a windsurfer. Then there's streets and cars all like matchstick toys. Swimming pools chequer boarding the city floor. Palm trees bending in welcome.

"Have a Great Day," the handsome young captain smiles at Bella as she passes out through the cabin door, and down the metal staircase to the tarmac. Heat haze blisters across the air field and the humidity slaps her in the face.

In arrivals, Bella is scooped up by a grinning Renee with flying curls.

"Oh my God, Bella, you look terrible."

Her Mom holds her like she never wants to let go – one of her bone-crushing hugs.

"Thanks Mom. Tell it like it is." Bella catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the moving walkway: white as a Cullen, all bandaged up, greasy hair and slumped. She's Dead Girl Walking.

_Holy Crow._

Renee slings her arm around her daughter.

"Let's get you home," she whispers.

Bella feels a pang deep inside. Home is a long way away, and she feels the distance with every step she takes.

Renee's house is in a quiet neighbourhood a few streets from the beach, a white stucco two story property with a balcony overlooking a landscaped garden.

Bella puts her duffel bag on the little blue bed on the upper floor bedroom that her Mom's prepared for her. Across the foot of the bed is a blanket made from all the T-shirts that they bought together on various road trips. On the bedside table is a small lamp, a few books and a vase with hibiscus flowers.

In the shower, Bella feels like she's scrubbing away ten layers of skin and her misery along with it. She misses Jake, but not like before. With the shadow of the imprint gone, it's a normal sort of missing – the kind any teenage girl would feel when being parted from her insanely gorgeous and loving boyfriend.

Awkwardly combing out her hair, which smells strongly of lemons from the shampoo, Bella wonders if maybe – just maybe – it's not going to be such a bad thing being here after all. So long as Jake is okay, then she'll be fine too. Some time with her Mom – though she's not looking forward to the inevitable S-E-X conversation – might even be a good thing.

It's been a while.

"Hey sweetie." Renee is smiling warmly, leaning against the door frame, her nose sunfreckled under her cowboy hat. Her Mom's eyes sparkle and Bella can tell what she's thinking: _Can't believe you are here._

One thing she has in common with her Mom – they are both an open book.

"Would you help me with my sling?" Bella asks.

"Sure, baby."

She passes Renee some fresh bandages from her bag and watches as her Mom peels off the wet sling to reveal her splinted fingers.

"Oh honey. That looks so sore."

"It's not so bad now." Bella says dismissively, watches as Renee straps her arm up again in a clean sling. "Be a bit hard to get a bathing suit on, though."

"Well I can help you with that," Renee smiles, putting her head on Bella's good shoulder. "That's what Moms are for, right?"

They spend the evening in the yard. Phil's cooked fish on the barbeque and they sit at a pretty table with a blue checked cloth under an olive tree filled with star shaped lights. Phil fills two glasses with white wine, something Bella is mildly surprised at – he wouldn't have done that before she moved to Forks – and slips a baseball cap on, then smiles shyly and heads off for a jog.

Bella watches her Mom watch him go, and for a moment she is filled with happiness that she has done the right thing. Her Mom is obviously so content here in Jacksonville with her husband.

The sunset bursts in hues of dusky purple, pale pink and strips of gold in the way only a Florida sunset can. The crickets begin their nightly rhythmic thrum.

Bella tentatively sips on her wine, and enjoys the way her Mom chews her lip, closes her eyes, sighs a little, plays with the curly hair she's scooped up into a bun – all such familiar gestures.

_This is the first time in a long while that I've felt truly safe._

"So Charlie tells me that you finally have a boyfriend." Renee's voice is low and confidential, more like a teenage friend than a mother.

"Yeah…Jake's great."

"Tell me about him," Renee taps Bella's forearm teasingly.

"I have a picture, if you'd like to see." Bella taps her mobile phone to resuscitate it, swivels it so her Mom can see.

Renee's eyes widen appreciatively.

"Damn. He's a hottie. He's Quileute?"

"Billy Black's son."

"What age is he again?" Renee frowns a little.

"Just turned seventeen."

Bella turns the phone back, looks at Jake's effortless smile, finds it infectious even from a photograph. It has the same effect on Renee, as she's smiling too.

"He looks good fun."

"He's great, Mom. He makes me laugh, and he's so kind…he's my best friend." Bella says the words simply, knowing the truth behind each phrase.

"So why is Charlie freaking out?" Renee lifts her eyebrows conspiratorially.

"He's not covered that with you?" Bella winces.

"Maybe I want to hear it from you."

When Bella is awkwardly silent, fiddling with her wolf bracelet, Renee tops up their glasses of wine.

"It's okay. I don't need to know all the gory details. I can tell. You are in love. It's what happens, right?"

Bella smiles gratefully.

"But is there more to it than that? Charlie has it in his head that there's quite a lot you've not been telling him." Renee sips her wine, her eyes sparkling.

Bella exhales. She wants more than anything in that moment to be able to confide in her Mom.

"It's a bit complicated. I've been a bit – stuck – between Jake and this other guy." Bella blushes at her own admission.

"Isabella Marie Swan. Have you become a player?" Renee laughs.

"No! No…well, I did kiss him, but I think I was a bit out of my mind or something…and then I got really confused because surely I wouldn't kiss someone if I was I love with someone else. Right Mom?" Bella looks hopefully from under her lashes at Renee, who is regarding her with a mixture of awe and bemusement.

"Well, if only life was that black and white, baby. But tell me, who is this other guy that can compete with a guy that looks like _that_?" Renee gives an incredulous nod towards Bella's mobile.

Bella picks up the phone and starts looking through her gallery. Finds a photo and holds it up.

"Edward Cullen," she says simply.

Renee leans forward. Her eyes widen and mouth drops. It reminds Bella of the first day Edward arrived at Forks High School.

Renee is actually rendered speechless.

"I know," Bella affirms. "Nobody should be allowed to be so ridiculously handsome."

"Well, I see the problem now," Renee squints at her daughter, as if seeing her for the first time. "Jake has competition."

"No, he doesn't – it's not like that. I've made my choice."

"Have you?" Renee eyes her. "I know my daughter when she's certain about something. And you are not certain, Bella." Then Renee jumps to her feet, claps her hands like a kid. "Let me help you decide!"

She darts off inside.

"Mom-"

She should know better than to try to stop her Mom once she begins her cannonball routine.

Renee returns, brandishing paper and pen. Sits back down beside Bella and draws out a little table. One column reads Jake and the other Edward. A line down the middle separates them, creating two empty columns.

"I'll start off," Renee suggests with enthusiasm.

_Gorgeous _she writes under both.

_Funny. Kind. Best Friend _she writes under Jake's heading.

"Does Edward have a good sense of humour?" Renee probes.

Bella covers her eyes with her good hand. Laughs.

"This is really stupid. Um…no, I haven't seen him tell any _knock knock_ jokes. He's more intense and, well, mysterious."

She rolls her eyes as Renee dutifully adds these attributes to the Edward list.

"What else?" Her Mom cocks her head.

"Edward is…ah…older. Jake is younger. Edward is cold and Jake is warm."

"Cold? As in distant?"

"Just write it down." Bella waves her hand dismissively.

"Edward is book smart and musical. Jake is good with his hands -"

"Oh really?" Renee cuts in, eyes brimming with innuendo.

"Gah! He's a _mechanic_, Mom. And he can wood carve. And he's a nice dancer…but then Edward can dance too, and he's well traveled, and sophisticated. Jake's more of a stay-at-home. He cares for his Dad, who is in a wheelchair, so he's never really been anywhere before."

Bella cuts off. Renee has stopped writing things down.

"You don't need to make this list, Bella."

"No. I don't."

"It's perfectly obvious who you love."

Bella smiles.

"Thanks Mom."

Later, when Bella is in bed and she's clearing away the wine glasses, Renee notices that her daughter has left out the Jake/Edward list. Renee glances at it, chuckles. Sees that Bella has added a couple of words at the bottom –

Werewolf / Vampire.

She shakes her head, smiles at the silliness, and tosses the paper into the trash on her way inside.

_That's what you call a good evening's parenting. _


	28. Castles in the Sand

**A/N Okay, so I felt a bit bad not resolving the cliffie for you...so here's the next chapter.**

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><p>A blinding sparkling throaty necklace of light on breeze swept water. Three green parrots chortle noisily above between the green palm and cloud hovering blue. Dragonflies make circles in the air. Snippets of words, laughter, hang on the breeze as Bella lies out on the beach.<p>

It's her first morning in Jacksonville, and she has awoken feeling incredibly peaceful. Strangely, the feel of the imprint has returned, and it gives her a huge sense of relief, as if she has a broken limb working again. _How ironic, _she muses, glancing at the pillows Renee has stacked on the side of her beach towel to prop up her strapped arm.

The air is static with insect hum, interrupted by barking, the conversation of dogs across the sand. Palm tree leaves sway back and forth like lazy pendulums with reedy music. High teenage voices, shrill barking.

Bella once more presses redial: she's been calling the Black's house since her arrival yesterday with no luck. _Where the heck is everyone?_ She wonders if Jake is coping with them being apart, if he felt the lapse of the imprint too. _Maybe it's like broadband internet – the signal just took a while to find me. _

The sun hovers behind a cloud, diffusing the necklace of light, scattering silvery beads across the bay. At the horizon, the air is almost chemical yellow, rising to green blue, streaked with pale unmoving clouds. A fish twists out of the near water with a gulp of air, vanishing once more below.

Rubbing her chest, Bella winces. Is it all the throwing up that has made her feel so tender? It's like an actual pressure on her breasts. An odd quirk of stress? The imprint? A leftover from Victoria's attack? She doesn't know. _It's so good being in the sunshine._

An old sea-plane bobs below the tree line. Waves folds the ocean water. _Ka _says a bird.

White dogs black dogs chasing on the sand.

"Bella!"

Renee strolls along the beach, hand in hand with Phil. They are carrying a cool box and beach mats. Bella eases herself to a sitting position.

"Wait till you see what we've got – your favourite - Phil made cheeseburgers and they are still warm!"

"Mmm…sounds good, Mom."

As Phil hands out burgers wrapped in paper napkins, bags of chips and cans of soda, Bella suddenly feels a wave of nausea roll over her. She can't bear to think of food. No. Absolutely not. Suddenly she realises she's going to be sick.

"Oh no." She puts her hand on her mouth, realises she's started to sweat.

"Honey? Are you ill…" Renee helps her up and together they stagger up the beach to some bush scrub, where Bella empties the contents of her breakfast onto the ground, then sits back with a low moan on the sand.

"Damn, I thought I was getting over this bug."

Renee looks at her carefully, as if seeing her with new eyes.

"Have you been needing to pee a lot?"

"Yeah."

"Sore boobs?"

"Yeah. Why, have you had this too?"

"Oh yeah…once upon a time." Renee's mouth shifts from worried to determined.

"Mom?"

Renee shakes her head grimly and steers her back to where Phil is sitting, a concerned looked stretched across his amiable face.

"Phil, would you come back to the house with me?" Renee asks distractedly.

"Sure!" Phil looks surprised. "What do you need?"

Renee dusts some sand between her hands. Her eyes scan up the beach to where there is a sign advertising the annual sand castle building competition that day.

"Oh, I thought we should get some buckets and spades. We haven't made sandcastles in years….we'll be back soon baby."

Bella watches worriedly as her Mom and Phil walk off. Well, actually, Renee kind of jogs and Phil walks with big strides to keep up. Soon, Bella can see her Mom gesticulating wildly, and Phil has his arms around her. _This is seven shades of weirdness._

Bella picks up a copy of a magazine Renee has left lying on the sand. It's all fashion and celebrities, not Bella's cup of tea, and she quickly thumbs through it and discards it, counting the minutes until Phil and Renee could feasibly return.

_Just like Mom to want to do something quirky like building sandcastles._

Time passes though, and her family do not return. Phil's burger has a single bite out of it, and he's not a man to half eat his lunch and then just forget about it. She feels like the last one standing on the Mary Celeste and nobody told her she needed to abandon ship.

Down the sand to her left is a little girl who has set up her little space for the sandcastle competition. Bella drinks a soda and watches as she takes her pink bucket down to where the wet sand is near the water's edge and fills it up, then drags it back up the beach. The girl must be only about four or five, but she's seriously determined. She upends the wet sand and forms it into a mound.

"Hey Ma'am," She squints against the sun and pushes sandy blonde hair behind her ears. "Doncha let ANYONE take my spot, okay?"

Before Bella can answer, the little blonde thing has stomped away in her jelly shoes back towards the sea.

The kid makes about twenty journeys, God honest, before she settles down with her mound of sand and a big stick. By then, other folk have gathered to start shaping their castles, and Bella can see the beginnings of shapes taking form – people working steadily to raise animals, buildings and strange objects from grains of sand. It's actually sort of fascinating.

But Bella's rooting for the little kid now, of course.

Though she doesn't seem to be building UP the way enough. She's piled up her sand, then flattened it out, and then ever so carefully has poked about on it with a stick.

The sun is lowering, and Bella knows she should try and get up and find Renee and Phil, but part of her really wants to see the sandcastle competition finished.

Easing herself to her feet, she has a better view of the near completed entries now. Some sea turtle shapes rising cleverly up as if burrowing out of the sand. A pyramid. A gator. A crab. A tower that is most likely going to win since it seriously looks like something out of Lord of the Rings.

Bella finally walks over to see what the kid has done.

She's got her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth, and her yellow swimsuit is riding up her butt-crack in the way that only kids can get away with.

Bella moves closer, tilts her head, trying to bring into focus the flat picture the girl has made: it's a dog, with a bushy tail and pert ears. She's even drawn shaggy fur and a lolling tongue, a bit like the way the kid herself has her tongue hanging out.

"I like your dog," Bella says shyly.

The girl tuts, puts her hand on her hip. "That's not a dog, lady. Don't you know a wolf when you see one?"

"Guess not," a warm voice from behind her says, and Bella whips around with a startled gasp.

There he is. Impossibly tall and molten skinned. Wearing a pair of black jeans underneath brown abs that ripple like tide washed sand.

Grinning like a Sun God.


	29. Drinks with the Cullens

There's not a breath to take before Bella's in his arms and he's picked her up and is spinning her around, so giddy and blue-skied and _he smells so good. _She just wants to touch his soft hair, and look into those intense yet melting eyes that only ever look at her that way, and she feels a simultaneous desire to wrestle him onto the sand (which would end badly) and to kiss him until her lips are chapped.

She opts for the latter.

_He's here!_

His lips are so warm and giving, and soon they are lapping tongues and it's as if the rest of the world is completely forgotten, and never mind her injury, or the fact that half the beach is ogling them, Bella wants to pull him to the ground and take him there on the hot sand.

"How!" She laughs, breaking off from the kiss with shining eyes, stroking a chin that's just sprinkled lightly with stubble. "How are you even here? Do I have sunstroke?"

"It's a long story." Jacob smiles, that way she loves where he shows his teeth and she's nearly blinded by the whiteness.

"Have you seen Phil and Renee?"

"I went to the house, but there was nobody there, so I just dumped my stuff on the front step. Followed my nose and found you here…" He takes a strand of hair and wraps it neatly behind her ear.

"Are you two married?" A little voice pipes up. It's the wolf kid. She's standing staring at them like she's seen something at the zoo. Bella realises she's probably just put on an NC-17 show in front of a minor. Uh-oh.

"Is she your Princess?" The kid points her stick at Jacob, then gestures to Bella. "Cos if she is, you have to marry her. It's the rules."

Jacob and Bella look at each other. Jacob knowingly, smirking. Bella blushing a little.

"Can I come to the wedding? You could get married on the beach. I'll still be here tomorrow. My name's Cady. I'm a real good bridesmaid."

"I'm sure you are, little one," Jacob smiles, and reaches down to pat her head. "And if we do get married you'll be the first to know."

"Cool!"

As Cady runs off, Jacob takes Bella's hand, and they return to where the picnic was abandoned.

"Oh nice, I'm starving."

"Go for your life. Renee and Phil disappeared hours ago."

Bella watches as Jacob begins to stuff burgers and chips down his throat.

"Yawanthum?" he offers her a half eaten burger.

"No, I wasn't feeling that great earlier…"

"You're sthick?" Suddenly Jacob's voice is full of concern, his eyes blackberry intense. He swallows eagerly. "What's wrong?"

"I've been throwing up since before I left Forks. Hey, did you feel the Imprint go?" Bella remembers that awful feeling of separation.

Quicker than he should, Jacob has her face cupped in his hands and he's looking into her eyes, checking. "Are you okay? Did it…hurt you…to leave?"

"It was really strange. And not pleasant. How about you?"

"I couldn't breathe. Carlisle had to give me oxygen until I calmed down. Then when I realised you might be going through the same thing, he had to give me a shot, and then another shot because the first one wasn't strong enough." Jacob rolls his eyes, but Bella can see the memory of the pain there.

"Carlisle was there?…How did that come about? It's not like he does house calls to the res."

"Alice saw you were leaving, and figured that I'd be heading for your place and thought they had better check on me. Kind of sweet for a bunch of blood sucking monsters, don't you think?" Jacob arches his brow wryly.

"Um…yeah…" Bella looks incredulous.

"Only time I've ever glad to be flat on my back surrounded by a bunch of fangs. And then they offered to pay for me to fly here to be with you." Jacob adds, a little abashed. At Bella's astonished face he raises a hand in protest. "Honestly…It was probably easier than keeping me sedated for a week. Rosalie was very much enjoying making comments about keeping her doped up mutt in the dog house."

"I don't know how I can ever repay them." Bella shakes her head. The thought of Jacob in pain just repulses her.

"No, me neither." Jacob's voice is quiet. "I don't know why they want to help so much. There must be _something_ in it for them. But the Doctor – Carlisle. He's a good person. I can see that. And Esme…she just looks at me like I'm due for some very serious mothering."

"I'll pay them back…I'll thank them," Bella insists.

"Well, they are here, so you won't have long to wait." Jacob says pointedly. "We checked in last night to the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island."

Bella feels as if her eyes are bugging out of her head.

Vampires…In Florida? It's absurd.

"You know Renee and Charlie are going to kill me. I'm supposed to be staying away from you."

"Bella, _she's dead._ There's not a single reason in the world that I have to spend any time away from you ever again, and I don't plan on letting your Mom, or Charlie, or Sam, or an entire coven of vampires get in the way of that."

Bella feels herself collapse against Jacob. Now he's said it, it's finally real.

"She IS dead. I saw it Jake. Emmett just broke her head right off her neck. It was over in a second. I didn't even know it could be so easy for…them." Her voice wobbles as she remembers Victoria's red eyes.

"It's okay. You are safe now." He brings his lips to brush against her hair, and Bella feels herself instinctively shiver. But it's not from fear, it's just him. He's electric.

"Jake...when the imprint went...did you still feel the same about me?"

Jacob's eyes are wide.

"Of course. You know how I felt about you even before I was a wolf, right?"

"It's just...there's always been this...doubt...in the back of my mind. What was the imprint, and what was real. I thought I'd never know...I'd decided it didn't really matter...but now. Well, I know how it feels to be away from you, and not feel the imprint..."

Bella trails off, shrugs.

"And?" Jacob prompts her, eyes concerned.

"All I wanted was to have it back, to feel US again."

with this admission, Jacob grins, then in one sweeping motion, he picks her up in his arms to carry her, and she has the pleasure of having her good arm slung around his neck while her strapped up fingers touch gently against his burning chest.

"You know there_ is_ one problem I'm struggling with," Bella admits.

Jacob looks at her quizzically, raising an eyebrow.

"It's Florida. You're so hot we're going to need a hell of a lot of air conditioning."

In response, Jacob gives her a look of absolute and supreme lust, scoops up the beach paraphernalia with one hand and takes off running easily down the beach. Past sand dragons and castle forts and racetracks, moats, giants hands and half buried parents.

A low growl escaping from his throat.

* * *

><p>"Bella are you home?" The worried voice cuts through the house to where Bella and Jake are sitting on the sofa, holding hands, waiting in anticipation of the breaking storm. Bella feels like the little kid she never was – the naughty one caught standing on a kitchen stool, raiding the snack cupboard.<p>

Jake hears her heart hitch, squeezes her hand.

"It'll be okay," he says reassuringly.

Renee walks into the room, Phil at her heels. She's carrying a plastic bag from the pharmacy and looks like she's been crying. When she sees Jacob sitting there on the couch, her eyebrows crawl up her forehead.

"Well well," she says darkly. Folds her arms.

Jacob rises, towers over Renee. Extends a brown palm to shake her hand, but Renee just glares at him. Instead, it is Phil who steps around his wife and takes Jacob's hand in a firm grip.

"This is my boyfriend, Jacob Black." Bella's eyes plead with her Mom.

"Jacob, do you want to get a cold drink in the kitchen with me?" Phil says amiably, shooting a sideways glance at Renee.

"I'm all good," says Jacob, sitting back down and taking Bella's hand.

Renee sighs, sits on the chair opposite and puts her head in her hands.

"Oh Bella. How could you. You have always been a smart kid. What happened?"

"This wasn't Bella. She didn't even know I was coming. Friends of the family were coming down to Florida, and they offered me a plane ride down. I'm staying with them over on Amelia Island."

"Well, it's just as well he is here, right Renee?" Phil nods. "I'd like to hear what this guy has to say for himself."

"Um…sorry?"

Bell and Jacob look at each other, confused.

Renee and Phil look at each other, sharing a silent message.

"You are right Phil, she doesn't even know." Renee looks pained.

"Oh honey," she says softly to Bella. "Do you think there might be any chance that you are pregnant?"

There is a moments silence, then Bella laughs crazily. "No! God Mom."

"Then you won't mind taking a test?" Renee reaches into the plastic bag and pulls out a slim cardboard box.

"Mom, this is ridiculous." Bella doesn't move.

"Can you swear on it? That you've been safe?" Renee demands, her eyes flickering to Jacob, who has paled slightly, sits forward, lips parted and on edge.

He exhales, then turns to Bella. "There was our first time…" he says softly. "We weren't exactly…careful."

Bella turns to him, red blush suffusing her face.

"No! Don't you start siding with her!" She jumps up, grabs the test and heads off to the bathroom. Better get this ridiculous carnival over and done with. She's never been so utterly mortified in her entire life.

Phil takes off his baseball hat, adjusts the brim and replaces it.

"So Jacob, what do you do for a living?"

"Uh…I'm in _school._" Jacob looks blankly at him.

"What college?"

Renee throws her hands up. "He's in High School, Phil. He's seventeen. I already told you."

Phil looks Jacob up and down, baffled. "Sorry, I kinda forgot." His tone of voice says what Jacob has so often experienced since he phased: _You don't look seventeen. What is it? Steroids? Native American drug riddled skank kid._

Jacob rises to his feet. Starts to move toward the bathroom door.

"Sit down," Phil grumbles at him.

Jacob swithers and sighs. Sits back down. His mind is racing with the possibilities. Could it possibly be true? It would be a chance in a million, surely. The sort of thing that happened to…well _other_ teenagers. Like Dawn Lacey on the res, who was pushing a pram at age fourteen. Or Darren Lightwater, who was a year older than Jacob, but already had a wife and two kids. And a drug problem.

It can't possibly happen. Not to him and Bella. She's got her whole life ahead of her.

Plus Charlie would actually shoot him. That is if Phil doesn't get him with a baseball bat first.

The minutes pass and stretch out like chewing gum. Everyone is trying not to look at each other. Eventually Phil puts the TV on and starts watching a baseball game.

"So are you ready to be a Dad, Jacob?" Renee eyes him.

"No." Jacob shakes his head. "But if we are going to be parents, then we'll do our best." Renee looks at him sceptically.

"I love your daughter. I know this is way too soon for you to hear this, and you must think I'm some total scuzzball, but Bella and me were going to be forever anyway. This was going to happen. Just not yet."

Renee is silent after his little speech.

Then there is a knock on the door.

"Oh God. Not now. Whoever it is, can you tell them to go away?" Renee turns to Phil and he strides over to the kitchen door, opens it halfway.

"Can I help you folks?"

"Hello. We're friends of Jacob and Isabella. I'm Carlisle Cullen, and this is my wife, Esme."At the sound of their voices, Renee has joined them and is gawping at the glamorous couple. Carlisle is dressed in chinos and a button down blue striped shirt, white Esme wears a pale yellow sundress and vintage sunglasses on a necklace around her neck.

"Carlisle…Esme…" Jacob feels like he's been thrown a lifeline. "Is it okay if they come in? –"

He looks hopefully down at Renee and Phil, and the latter pulls open the door. "Sure. Although you find us in a bit of a…situation…this evening."

Esme and Carlisle enter the kitchen, instantly making the flamingo magnets on the fridge and Renee's collection of rattan pot plant holders look hokey rather than homely. They emanate the otherworldly glamorous aura of Hepburn and Grant.

"I know this must be a terrible inconvenience Jacob showing up like this," Carlisle says, and his tone carries a full acknowledgement of the emotional burden Phil and Renee are carrying.

"Well, it was rather a surprise," Renee says lamely, taking in the movie star good looks of the couple in front of her.

"Jacob is just so devoted to Bella, and when she left without even saying goodbye – well, I'm sure you know how it works with young love." Carlisle puts his arm around Esme and chuckles, and Phil and Renee unconsciously echo their movements.

The air is full of charm.

Jacob looks between the two couples, the penny dropping. _Damn. They are good. Go crazy mind controlling seductive vampires. Do your work!_

Before Renee really knows what is happening, Esme and her are sitting on the couch talking about painting, while Carlisle pours glasses of red wine he has brought for medicinal purposes. Jacob notes with distaste that a bottle of Shiraz is served to Phil and Esme, while Carlisle quickly pours from a second unseen bottle or red he has brought with him to serve to Esme.

_Red what?_

While everyone is occupied, he slinks down the hall and knocks on the bathroom door.

"Bella?"

There is silence. Then a shuffling. Then the lock slides open.

He waits a moment, then pushes the door open to find Bella sitting on the toilet with her head in her hands.

"It's positive, huh?" He says stupidly.

Bella's head whips up. She's been crying.

"Yup."

"Well, Carlisle and Esme are here. They've got your Mom and Phil so bedazzled that they've pretty much forgotten you are still in here."

"Is that all you have to say?"

Jacob unfolds from his great heights and gathers her up into a hug. He holds her, hearing her heartbeat, listening so carefully to see if he can hear a tiny little heartbeat. There's nothing. But he knows it's there, nonetheless, the little life that he and Bella have created.

"It's okay, Bella. Whatever you are feeling. It's okay. I can handle it. I know it's a bit of a shock, but it's also pretty…wonderful."

Jacob looks at her hopefully.

"I thought you'd be scared…or mad at me. I am. I'm scared and I'm really mad at myself." Bella looks up at him.

Jacob laughs. "I think we'd be crazy to not be scared. But this is US. Bells and Jake. We just have to figure out how to make it work, that's all…now let's get out of this bathroom. There's a couple of vampires in the den drinking blood and glamoring your Mother."


	30. Charlie and the Wolf

Leah Clearwater is seriously pissed.

_As if my life wasn't already some frickin piece of shit TV movie sob story. _

It sucks big time being that girl: the one who just was not good enough. The one who was tough as nails but gave her heart anyway when Sam Uley came calling, only to have him run off with her God damn cousin. She couldn't have written such a shitty soap opera script if she'd tried.

And now she's been landed in hoodoo-voodoo territory.

She is a wolf.

Frickin' great.

_Welcome to the Family _

That total douchbag Paul Lahote frickin had the nerve to _smirk _at her.

Family? She already has Seth, okay? And it didn't help him behaving like a totally over-excited puppy. He'd seen way too many X-Men films not to be psyched about becoming the next Wolverine. He looked like he was going to wet himself with joy at the prospect of being a total freak.

And now her ex has the nerve to come up with the most hysterically ridiculous excuse for having dumped her on her ass: _Oh sorry, Leah, it wasn't you. It was me. When I became a wolf, I imprinted on my soul mate. It just was not my fault. I couldn't help it. I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you._

To make matters worse, whiny Sam is apparently the big sucky chief of the wolves. So although she had particularly enjoyed sinking her teeth into his hind leg and hearing him whimper, she was also utterly humiliated to find that he actually had some control over her: this horrendous compulsion to do what he said. As if she actually _wanted_ to obey him.

And Leah has never been submissive to anyone in her entire life.

Ever.

So here she finds herself, storming on two human legs through the forest at the fringes of the res. Sam having ordered her _– ordered her!_ – not to leave La Push.

So she runs faster, and snaps off branches that get in her way. Throws boulders easily that once she would have struggled to even lift.

_I am _not _weak. _

She stops at the foot of a cedar and cranes her neck up, dizzyingly high, into the branches. He said she couldn't cross that line to leave La Push, but he didn't say she couldn't go _up._

Leah jumps to grab the lower branch, pulls herself up and swings hand over hand through the canopy until she's standing, swaying slightly at the top of the tree and looking out over the forest floor.

Birds silence themselves for her, sensing predator, pure rage, or both.

It's cooler up here but all she feels is white hot fury burning inside of her, and nowhere to put it.

Opens her mouth to scream, and it comes out like a choked and mournful howl.

* * *

><p>Charlie has never been one to give up easily when he knows something fishy is going on, but reservation politics can be tricky. Officially, La Push is policed by the tribal council – understaffed, underfunded, and quite clearly not Charlie Swan's jurisdiction as Forks Chief of Police. As a friend of Billy and Harry, he has been more than tolerated on the res, and often there have been times he's had to turn a blind eye to the odd illicit still or domestic blow-up. It makes his fingers itch at times, but what can he do? The Quileutes look after their own, as best they can.<p>

Charlie had made a few tentative enquiries over at Department of Fish and Wildlife. It was as he suspected: there were known to be five packs of gray wolves in the state, all controlled and monitored. No red wolves or black wolves. And no known packs on La Push. But who was to say how the Quileutes saw their rights in the matter? Wolves were part of their heritage. He could see them justifying ownership the way eagle headdresses and snakeskin necklaces had been in the past in other areas.

So this is what brings him to go renegade on a Sunday afternoon while Bella is with her Mom in Florida. Trying to establish the extent of the problem. Telling himself that all he wants to find out is whether Jacob Black is up to his neck in this mess.

Not going rogue super-sleuth.

Just trying to protect his daughter from being eaten by a wolf.

This time, Charlie has brought a gun. Yes, he knows that wolves are known to be shy around humans, but these are _big_ wolves, the stuff of nightmares and horror movies. He smiles wryly to himself as he remembers looking up the wolf identification guide- most people would mistake them for coyotes – realising that what he had seen was more the size of a bear.

Charlie fingers the spare cartridges in the pocket of his jeans. He's into the woods now, and the rain of the past few days has broken, leaving shafts of early spring sunlight starting to light up the forest floor.

He's a little embarrassed to be here. Hunting and fishing is common on the res of course. For the Quileutes. But here he is, alone, white and the Chief of Police. Stalking the woods in search of giant wolves.

He pauses, smooths his moustache and shakes his head. The wood is quietly mocking him.

Maybe he should just turn and head for Billy's.

Then he hears it – a distinctive howl coming from the east.

Charlie's heart kick-starts and he begins to run towards the source of the noise.

* * *

><p>Leah refuses to cry. As if she'd let him have won. She is strong. She's a survivor. Hasn't she already proven herself? She'll find a way to make all of this end. To get away from Sam and all the other frickin' furry brothers.<p>

She sighs, leans back against the tree trunk, and sways, as if up high on the rigging of a boat.

Then suddenly her momentary peace is disturbed as her senses kick in and she's aware of someone moving down below.

Dammit all to hell. Why can't they just leave her alone?

"Go away!"

Charlie hears the voice holler from above. It is angry. And female. He jerks to a halt.

"Uh…hello? Are you okay?" He scans the trees above until improbably, there is the face of Harry Clearwater's daughter.

"Leah? Is that you?" Christ, she's really high up.

"Charlie Swan?" Leah's voice is equally incredulous.

"Can you climb down, or do you want me to climb up?" Charlie hopes to God it's the former. He really doesn't fancy trying to play fireman up this giant tree.

Leah shoots him what he would describe as a withering look.

"You could just go away, you know." Her voice is sullen.

There is silence as Charlie scans the woods around him. He's gripping his rifle.

Leah sighs and begins to descend the tree. Has her Dad sent Charlie looking for her?

Charlie jumps inadvertently as Leah drops to the ground beside him.

"What are you, a cat?" He eyes her suspiciously.

"Why are you here, Chief Swan?" Leah's eyes narrow. "I don't need babysat."

Charlie still gazes around, alert for any unusual noises.

"Well, just call me Dick Tracy, but I would hazard a guess that something chased you into a tree. And as I have a rifle, it might be wise to accompany me home in case whatever it is comes back."

Leah laughs in his face.

"I don't scare that easily."

Charlie looks beyond Leah's bitter mouth to see her green moss stained t-shirt, denim cut-offs and bare feet. She's like a wood nymph. A really angry one.

"I'm sure you don't."

Charlie gestures for her to lead the way, gentleman that he is.

She stomps over the ground like she doesn't even notice she's walking barefoot on rough forest floor.

In fact, it's a struggle for him to keep up.

"So, how are you doing, Leah?"

She snorts in reply, tosses her black hair and loosens some leaves that have caught there.

He remembers then, all about her break-up with Sam Uley. Harry had told him how worried he'd been about his girl. How she'd spent months alone, silent and angry, refusing to eat properly, everything she said so cold and distant.

Another guy might have asked a bit more, tried to get her to open up and talk.

But he's Charlie Swan, so he just follows along behind her quietly.

They've gone on like this for ten minutes or so when she stops short, turns abruptly to face him. Charlie nearly crashes into her, it's so unexpected.

"You know, I really don't need this right now." She's got her finger up at his face. She's actually waggling it, one hand on hip. "Whatever my Dad has said to you…"

Charlie holds up his palms. "Whoa…"

"…I mean, you are not even tribe, and he's got you on my case? That's just beautiful. What the hell is your angle anyway?"

Her brown eyes look confused.

Ignoring her, Charlie takes off his checked shirt. Leah's eyes widen as he hands it to her.

"You must be cold."

"I'm not cold."

"Come on, it's freezing out here."

"I'm not cold. I'm…never cold."

That's when Charlie finds himself sitting on the forest floor with Leah Clearwater holding on to his favourite flannel shirt, crying her eyes out.

He awkwardly pats her on the back. Clears his throat.

Then she launches herself at his chest and sobs into him.

Charlie's eyebrows threaten to dive off the top of his forehead.

She's right though. She's not cold. She practically radiates heat.

For a few minutes Leah holds him, then she pushes against his chest with both hands and turns away.

"I'm sorry." Charlie's not sure what he's apologising for, but it feels like an official apology on behalf of the entire male species.

Leah glances at him from her dark brown eyes that are now rimmed red.

"You don't know the half of it," she mutters darkly.

Charlie shrugs. "I know how it feels to be left. _Alone. Forever_." He says it jokingly, with a smile.

Leah wipes her eyes like she's disgusted with herself. Meets his eyes and gives an intense look which makes him feel like he's not so much of a foreigner any more.

She nods carefully, looks back at the ground. She's still gripping his shirt tightly.

"Did you ever get over it?" She hates herself for asking.

"Nope."

They look at each other then.

"You tell anyone that you saw me cry and I'll make your life a misery, Charlie Swan."

There is silence after this threat.

Charlie gets up and looks around. The shadows have lengthened but the forest still seems far too quiet for dusk.

"You know, your Dad didn't send me out here."

He offers Leah a hand, but she springs up by herself. Hands him back the shirt.

"Oh, so you just happen to be walking out in the middle of the forest for fun, huh?" Leah is back in her comfort zone of sarcasm.

"No…actually I was wolf hunting." Charlie smiles to himself, but when he glances at Leah, she is frozen.

"What did you say?"

Leah's eyes have suddenly become darker, fiercer. She actually looks a bit scary.

"Okay, look I know it's not of my business, but I know there are wolves being kept out here. I've seen them with my own eyes, so there's no point denying it." Charlie's suddenly switched to 'cop voice.'

"Kept….Kept?" Leah's voice rises a little, shaky. Her shoulders are starting to quiver too.

"Leah, are you okay?" Charlie reaches out to touch her shoulder, but quick as a flash she's flung his arm aside and…_ow_, that _hurts._

"I'm fine! I'm just fine! Why wouldn't I be?" Leah's voice rises hysterically, and she backs away. She's still shaking, in fact, it's gotten worse, and just as Charlie is about to wonder whether she's having some sort of epileptic fit, her whole body seems to flicker like a mirror lit with light, and pulse briefly, then there is a silent explosion where Leah stops being Leah and another form bursts out of her.

Gray.

Hairy.

Canine.

Charlie staggers back, tries to lift his rifle, but the animal is on him and he's flung back to the ground. All he can do is just lie there, dazed, as two paws pin him to the ground.

Charlie has always been known for being calm in a crisis.

You've got to be, right?

So he just looks.

Looks right into the eyes of the wolf as it looks back at him. Soft gray and white fur, granite eyes and a black nose.

His mind is trying to decipher what the hell just happened.

"Leah?"

The eyes of the wolf blink momentarily then neatly – almost daintily, the wolf steps off his chest. Sits back on its hind legs and begins to lick one paw.

Charlie sits up, breathless.

"Leah?" As he says her name for a second time, the wolf looks up at him, as if considering.

Charlie raises a hand, like you would to a strange dog, and the wolf looks at the hand, looks back at Charlie, then – swear to God – rolls its eyes.

Then, as if reconsidering, the wolf moves slowly towards Charlie and when it is close enough, licks his hand once, as if testing the taste, and finally snuffles against his chest just where Leah had previously being crying.

This is how Charlie Swan finds himself rubbing the ears of a giant gray wolf.

Much later, when night has fallen, Charlie switches on his flashlight, only to find the wolf grabbing it, and with one creaking splinter, chewing it up and spitting out the broken pieces.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" Charlie almost wants to add _bad dog._

The wolf cocks its head on one side as if to say _Are you stupid? _A noise comes from its throat a little like laughter, then it nuzzles against Charlie's side, against his hand.

Charlie reaches out and lets the wolf be his guide.

It does a good job, guiding him around trees – whining if there is an obstacle he might trip over. Although she does occasionally let a low branch whack him in the face and then there's that odd doggy/human laugh, husky like a smoker's cough.

Charlie estimates that they'll see the lights from the res fairly soon, and wonders to himself if the entire world will have changed when he steps out these woods. Or if this is a Grimm's tale that he'll wake up from.

Strangely, he can't remember the last time he felt so calm, so in the moment. It's as if he could go on, walking under the moon with this gray wolf, on and on for the rest of his life.

Just as he sees a flicker of distant light – a camp fire on the beach? – the wolf stops. He feels her quiver, and leave his side.

He's left alone in the dark.

"Leah?"

A few moments pass, and Charlie's elated heart begins to sink.

"Hey…" Her throaty voice calls out through the gloom.

"Could I have your shirt?"

"Where are you?"

"Just throw it. I can see pretty good."

Charlie takes off his shirt, throws it into blackness.

Next thing he knows, she's there beside him, shirt buttoned all the way up and nothing else on, just long slim legs and dark dark eyes. An unsmiling mouth.

Charlie wants to say something, but it's stuck in his throat.

Leah reaches over and takes his hand, leads him on again.

After a couple of minutes he realises she's making small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. Charlie can feel his brain about to explode.

This is Harry Clearwater's daughter.

What age is she? Twenty?

_And she turns into a wolf._


	31. A Prediction

Bella watches anxiously through the kitchen window as she sees Jacob and Charlie talking outside. Just in case of emergency, she's taken the key to Charlie's gun cabinet and popped it in her jeans pocket.

It's inevitable this discussion – has been ever since they returned from Florida. She and Jacob had talked it over on the plane. Occasionally he would smile and touch her stomach with wonder.

"Do you think Jasper could pop over and be there in the background?"

Jacob had laughed at the suggestion, but frankly Bella thought it might be the only way they would escape from this showdown unscathed.

Charlie has been especially quiet since their return, and more mysteriously, has also been talking on his cell phone to someone who keeps calling at all hours of the day and night. The fact that Charlie has even bought his own phone, let alone knows how to text, is an entire source of mystery to Bella. He's always been keen to point out that he has folks calling and yacking to him all day on his work phone, so why would he want one at home when he has a perfectly decent land line?

It is just another thing to add to her general unease.

Outside, Jacob is slumped against the side of the red truck, hands in pockets. He looks far too relaxed.

"Quit talking about the weather Jake and just spit it out."

Then she sees her Dad's face change. He gesticulates, points to the sky and then gestures with both hands as if to mime an explosion.

Jacob looks stunned. He's shaking his head, then shrugging, then nodding.

Charlie has his hand on his shoulder and he's shaking him gently.

How Bella wishes she could lip read.

When a few minutes later, they enter the kitchen, Charlie's face is pale, but Jacob actually looks quite relieved.

"Well, it sure explains a few things…" Charlie is saying drily.

"I wanted to tell you sooner, Charlie."

"Well, I found out anyway," He barks a short laugh, then turns to his daughter, shaking his head.

"I just can't believe you've been going through this and you didn't tell me. There's secrets and then there's secrets, Bells. No wonder I was going off my head with worry. When I saw you two coming out of the woods with Jacob butt naked..."

Charlie is shaking his head, smiling. Then he laughs, an incredulous laugh, and Bella sees that look upon his face that has been there quite often since her return: ponderous, full of wonder.

"Uh, Dad?" Bella wonders if the news has actually pushed him over the edge into Crazy-Ville.

"Are you…okay with this? You don't think we're too young to be parents?"

Jacob is making _abort! abort! _signs behind Charlie's back, but it's too late. Charlie sways, holds onto the kitchen counter and seems to lose all control over his facial expressions which range from anger to shock to dismay to terror all in a fleeting moment.

"You-" He stares at Bella, then turns to Jacob

"You." He growls in a low voice.

"Well, what on earth were you two talking about outside?" Bella protests

* * *

><p>As the day that will forever be known as Charliegate comes to a close, Bella curls up under her purple covers and switches off her bedside light. She lets her hands rest on her stomach, touches gently, imagining the little life growing inside of her. It feels like she's carrying this infinitely precious burden. Right then, she knows she would do anything for this little person she's going to mother.<p>

Next door, she can hear Charlie talking on his cell phone yet again. He's probably had the worst week of his life. Finding out that his daughter's boyfriend was a mutant wolf was bad enough, but then discovering that said mutant wolf had knocked up his daughter was heart-attack territory. Funnily enough he seemed to be coping much better with the whole monsters-are-real thing than the scandal of the daughter-is-pregnant part.

Just as well they are saving the whole vampires-on-the-loose story for another day.

As she's lying there, starting to drift off, Bella feels a sudden surge of adrenaline, and then a wave of emotion tides through her. It's such a startling feeling that someone might as well have fired a pistol to get her attention.

_Jasper._

She pulls back her bedclothes and opens her curtains. There he is down below under the tree, chalk white face and blonde hair. He nods and gestures for her to come down.

Pulling her dressing gown around her, Bella creeps down the stairs, past Charlie's room and the murmur of his voice.

_This had better be important._

_But then, with vampires, it usually is._

She opens the front door and Jasper is there.

"Um…do I have to invite you in for you to cross my thresh-hold?"

Jasper's mouth twitches into a smile. "Hardly. But we do need you. Carlisle asked if you would come."

"Now?"

"Yes, m'aam."

"Well, okay, but maybe I should change…"

Before she can act on this, Jasper has scooped her up and he's buckling her in to the Mercedes.

"Jasper, where are we going?" Bella is breathless, suddenly scared. Of all the Cullens, it's Jasper she's been most wary of.

"Our place."

"Do I get to ask why?"

He turns and raises an eyebrow.

"Alice, of course."

The Mercedes purrs out of the drive to the low sound of Carolina Chocolate Drops on the CD player.

As they pull in to the Cullen place, all white and lit up, Bella shivers with trepidation.

"It's alright, Bella. Edward's not here."

Bella nods sharply. Is she that transparent?

Feeling a little self-conscious in her dressing gown, she's even more embarrassed when Jasper once more picks her up and speeds inside the house vampire-style.

"Very cute, Jas." The little voice of Alice pipes up as Bella is carefully placed on the white sofa.

Everyone is there: Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Alice. Everyone except Edward.

Bella sighs with relief, then catches herself - realises that she should probably feel at the very least intimidated at basically being kidnapped in the middle of the night by a family of vampires. How strange life is.

"Bella, Welcome," Esme smiles.

"Thank you for coming at this late hour," Carlisle adds.

"Sure. It's the least I can do after…everything." _Nursing me after a vampire attack. Killing said vampire. Protecting me and my family night and day. Looking after Jake when the imprint kicked his butt, even when you know I've not chosen Edward. Flying his rival down to Florida just so he can be with me. Mopping up the mess when our pregnancy hits headline news..._

Carlisle nods. "I'm not sure how much Edward has told you about our kind. Did he ever mention the Volturi to you?"

Bella shakes her head.

"They are the closest we have to what you might call Kings. They are very powerful rulers, who enforce our laws and our way of being. Mostly just one law – that we are discreet."

Carlisle pauses, looks pained.

"It appears that we have not been discreet enough. Before Emmett killed Victoria, she was working with the Volturi. We never saw it – they hid well from us."

Bella feels her heart pound and her mouth go dry.

"Aro – the leader of the Volturi – is somewhat a collector of vampires with – special talents. He's often hinted that he wishes myself and my family to return to Italy with him to bolster his rule."

At this Esme puts her hand on Carlisle's arm, as if to comfort.

"And Victoria told them about the wolves? And me? And…Charlie?" Bella surmises, feels the full horror of it hit her.

"I would imagine he's fascinated by it. He's never come across anything that could challenge a vampire before. Knowing Aro, he'd like to see the wolves as pets sitting around his marble throne."

"No!" Bella cries out.

"It's alright, Bella. It's only one possible outcome." Alice puts her cold arm around Bella's shoulder.

"Tell her," Rosalie says, angrily. "For once tell her everything. She deserves to know it all. No mind games, Alice."

Alice shares a look with Jasper.

"I've seen the Volturi come to Forks. They find the wolves and Bella. They attack Bella. The kill one of the children-"

"Children?" Bella's eyes are wide.

"You are having twins, Bella. A boy and a girl. In this version of events your son is killed and your daughter is saved by Edward."

Bella rocks back, hands on her stomach, a low moan emitting from her mouth.

"Alice, it's too much for her." Esme leans forward in concern.

"Keep going" Rosalie warns. "You saw that she won't miscarry if we tell her."

"The Volturi attack Bella. She's dying, and they change her into a vampire. Edward and you end up going with the Volturi in exchange for Jacob remaining in La Push with your daughter."

Bella's cries are strangled. Alice pauses, then the last part comes out in a rush.

"I said I saw you and Edward together, Bella. But it wasn't quite like I thought. You would be together – a long time after Jacob and all the wolves and all your family, and your daughter's daughter are all dead and gone. Then you would be together, forever, for all eternity. As Isabella Cullen."

"That's enough, Alice. She knows. She can decide now." Carlisle frowns.

"Decide what?" Bella chokes out. "When have I ever been able to choose _anything_ that's happened to me?"

She looks around at the room of vampires, all sitting too still and too quiet. All looking at her expectantly.

"You said this version of events, Alice. Is there another?"

Then she realises.

"Where is Edward?"

"He's gone. Gone to Italy and the Volturi. Gone to be one of them…to appease them. He's sacrificed himself for you." Alice smiles sadly.

Bella sits, shocked beyond belief.

"Will that work?"

"Yes. It's him they want most of all, apart from me. And Aro knows I would never join him."

"But what about the wolves? Charlie and me?"

"While Edward serves the Volturi, he safeguards your lives," Carlisle explains. "You are the bargaining chips. If Aro destroys you, he turns Edward against him, loses the possibility of gaining all of us as allies. I would hazard a guess that Aro will love the idea of Edward loving a 'mere mortal.' It appeals to his sense of the absurd."

"So Bella," Alice leans forward. "Will you allow Edward to do this for you? Or will you come to Italy with me to try to stop him?"

Rosalie snorts, shakes her head in fury. "Alice, you ask too much."

Alice looks at her, imploringly. "He loves you, Bella."

"I know," Bella nods, her voice quiet, and her eyes shining with tears. "I love him too."

Alice smiles in triumph.

"But I love Jacob more. I love-" Bella cups her stomach through her dressing gown "- my children more."

As Alice's face falls, Rosalie nods and smiles in satisfaction. She rises up and glides over to Bella, places cold lips on her forehead.

"Live and be happy, Bella."


	32. Epilogue: It Don't Mean a Thing

**Author's Note: It's been an absolute joy writing my first fan-fic. Thank you to everyone who has supported me: willow for kicking my backside into action, Taoist Elf for sharing the love of words, light4dawn for pushing me into the limelight...all of you who have taken the time to review and to PM me. Hope you enjoy the finale.**

* * *

><p>It doesn't really mean anything, the vampire thinks to himself.<p>

Listening to the minds of Aro's enemies, relaying their thoughts and plots and contributing another sticky thread to the Volturi web.

He's dispassionate, an observer, more stone than being.

It doesn't mean a thing.

Not the music wafting through marble corridors from a farther room, nor the too-perfect white lilies placed by a dark haired mortal girl who smiles shyly at him when he enters. Brown eyes just like Bella's.

Oh, Aro knows how to subtly remind him. How to tempt him. How to reward him.

It's what brings him here today. Not to take part, but to observe.

"Do_ go_, Edward…" Aro had fingered the gilt edged invitation in his sallow bony fingers. Smiling, with glinting eyes. "Everyone loves a good wedding."

_Yes, go, Edward. Be reminded of why you are here. See her. See him. See what you can never have and what you have sacrificed your existence for. We know the subtext, Aro. _

It doesn't mean a thing: not his white tailored suit with the pale shell waistcoat and gold cravat. Not the white designer shoes with kidskin soles perfect for light feet and dancing. Not the time he spent in front of the mirror – seeing his unchanging face, rearranging his hair and smoothing it back with cream.

Maybe if you didn't look closely at his eyes then you would never know.

Alice had been right after all: Bella could have saved them all, even him from this grim half-life in Volterra. She could have chosen him, and then maybe they would have fought, maybe they would have won, even against the Volturi.

He had not kept her close enough.

Instead, he had chosen to let her live.

He can almost see it, Alice's alternate version of events: him scooping up the toddler – the one who reminds him of Bella. Running with her like he's never ran from anyone or anything. While Bella lies dying, and someone – Aro? Carlisle even? – changes her.

Would it be worth it, after all. After the life of her son, after the loss of her daughter and husband. Could she ever possibly love him? Even if time were to roll on for all infinity and the continents shift and cultures rise and fall.

Then Alice said she would be with him.

But that wouldn't make it right.

It doesn't mean anything, Edward decides, as he sits behind the wheel of his rented Volvo, twiddles the dial of the radio until he finds a station playing a tribute to the Andrews Sisters.

_Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me…_

As he nears the Forks city limits, he feels like a soldier returning home. Hell, he's seen enough misery and destruction on Aro's whim. He's had his heart and soul hardened as much as any veteran. But there's no sweetheart to come home to.

…_I could say bella, bella, even say wunderbar__  
><em>_Each language only helps me tell you how grand you are__  
><em>_I've tried to explain, bei mir bist du schoen__  
><em>_So kiss me, and say you understand__…_

He passes the green cloaked entrance to the Cullen driveway, and feels a giddy wave of nostalgia. Are Emmett and Rosalie there, curled together on the white suede sofa?

Home.

He shakes his head.

Remember, it doesn't mean anything.

…_Bei mir bist du schoen__  
><em>_You've heard it all before, but let me try to explain__  
><em>_Bei mir bist du schoen means that you're grand__  
><em>_Bei mir bist du schoen__  
><em>_Is such an old refrain, and yet I should explain__  
><em>_It means I am begging for your hand…_

It's approaching dusk as he pulls into La Push, the earliest he dares venture outdoors on such a sunny summer's day.

It's been a long time since he crossed the treaty line.

Faded days, pretending to drink soda in Jacob's garage and actually getting excited about fixing up cars. Trying not to fall in love with his friend's girl. Failing miserably.

It seems like a childhood dream now, like someone has sepia washed it and frozen the image in time.

Edward parks the Volvo near the beach edge and looks across the sand to where bonfires are already lit, and dozens of strings of fairy-lights twinkle, suspended on poles wrapped with white ribbon.

Someone is setting off glittering fireworks into the sky, and the ooh and aah of the crowd on the beach mingles with laughter and music from a live band.

He sits, listening to the thoughts he can hear, tuning out the lewd and avaricious, and honing in on those who are remembering the events of the day:

_So full of steak, I can hardly breathe…going to need to let my dress pop a few buttons…[Image: inside of a white tent, gardenias.] So lucky to have snagged Jacob Black, he's such a hottie, suppose that's what happens when you get knocked up young, but those twins are super cute…[The fragrance of sea salt and pine]…That is such a beautiful wedding dress. You'd never know she'd popped out two kids, she's so slim…[Image: detail of pearl buttons and lace trimmed veil.] _

Edward clenches and unclenches his knuckles.

Maybe he can't do this. Maybe he shouldn't. Maybe Aro knew he would get this far and have to turn around and leave.

It doesn't mean anything, he tells himself. Just one glimpse of her, looking happy, and I'll be satisfied.

He opens the car door.

She has her eyes closed and her head resting on the shoulder of her husband's gold suit. The song the band are playing is fast, but instead she sways gently back and forth as if lulling herself to sleep. Edward stays in the shadows, feels an inadvertent smile curl his lips. She always did have a lousy sense of rhythm.

Her hair is pulled back and gently curled, the veil held in place by a simple pin. The dress is hankerchief white, the small train making swirls on the sand. Her feet are bare and toenails painted with clear varnish. She smells like peonies after rain.

Momentarily she turns and gazes across the dance floor, as if distracted by a sudden thought.

Edward follows her gaze to where Charlie and Billy are sitting, a can of Rainier in one hand and a sleeping baby in the other. Both men's thoughts are utterly content, focused in adoration on the child they hold. Edward looks for the boy: the one who would have died. He's dressed in linen shorts and a white waistcoat over his baby grow. From here he can see a shock of black hair sticking up like a cockatoo. His dreams are of swirling ocean colours. Charlie Swan is holding the daughter – the one he would have saved, and her little face is turned upwards, to where the moon is peeking out from behind the clouds. Her face is small and delicate, just like he's imagined, and she clutches her blue silk dress with her chubby fingers. Her dreams are of the face of her father. His gentle voice, the way he makes her giggle.

Then Bella's eyes have found him in the darkness, and the look upon her face is pure shock. She grips Jacob's shoulder, and he stiffens and turns.

_Edward, _his thoughts shout.

They both turn, and he wonders…should he run? None of the words he's rehearsed seem appropriate. Even his stupid wedding suit looks out of place, as if he's an uninvited guest.

Then Bella runs towards him, practically tripping over her gown, and she's flung herself at him.

"Edward, you came!" Her eyes are suddenly brighter, and filled with tears. She turns to Jacob, who is smiling now, shaking his hand.

"Jacob, look, he came. I told you he would, if he could." Bella smiles as if she's just been told that all the world's ills are about to be solved. She is looking at him like he's the next Messiah.

"Never second guess your wife," Jacob smirks, cocking an eyebrow. "Why don't you two catch up?" Edward searches Jacob's thoughts at the apparent generosity, noticing the stress on the word, wife. So Jacob trusts him. Sort of.

As Jacob moves away across the sand to join Embry and Seth, Bella touches his hand.

"I'm so glad you are here. There's so much to say. I never got the chance."

Edward shakes his head.

"Don't. That's not why I'm here. I just…wanted to see you."

"It's good to see you. I…missed you."

Her eyes are ringed with some sort of dark make-up. It makes her look even more haunting. Edward burns the memory of those words, and those eyes into his mind, storing them indelibly in his mind. He'll need them later.

"Would you like to dance?"

Bella laughs. "With you? Last time I danced with you, you were the swing instructor and it was pretty messy, I seem to remember…"

Edward smiles, and pulls her close into hold.

"No tricks, I promise."

"Really?" Bella looks sceptical.

"Maybe just one or two…" Edward dips her gently to the ground and briefly holds her there.

As he guides her back up into his arms, he sees Carlisle and Esme near the water's edge, looking over at him with warm surprise.

"You invited my family?"

"Yup," Bella grins.

"And Sam let you?"

"Sam doesn't have the say-so anymore. There's been a few changes round here, and let's just say that vampire / wolf relations have significantly improved."

Edward scans the thoughts around him: Paul…Jared…Quil until he reaches the correct conclusion.

"Jacob is Alpha."

Bella nods, smiling proudly.

Edward lets his mind drift to Carlisle and Esme, falters a little.

"They don't live here anymore."

"No, they are just here for the wedding. No more vampires in Forks," Bella says lightly.

They sway for another minute.

"Edward, I have to thank you – what you've done for us…"

"It doesn't matter." Edward shakes his head, averts his eyes.

"How can you say that. Of course it does. You've given everything, and I just threw it back in your face…" Edward feels Bella start to tremble a little. Is it the night air, or his cold body – he can't be sure. Steps back from her a little.

"Bella, you made all the right decisions, do you understand?" Edward risks tipping up her chin to meet his eyes. They have stopped dancing and just stand looking at each other. "I just wanted to make sure you were happy. Because if you are, then it's all worth it."

Bella's breath hitches a little.

"I'm _so_ happy," she says huskily.

"Good. Then go and dance with your husband. He's waiting for you." Edward forces himself to speak teasingly, smile.

"Will you be here for a while?" Bella frowns. "You're not going to suddenly disappear, are you?"

_Actually, I was planning to, but what else can I not deny you,_ Edward feels like saying. Instead he forces a laugh, winks.

"What? When I have all the fine gossip from La Push to catch up on? I can't wait to hear about your Dad and Leah Clearwater, for starters," He jokes.

Bella gasps. "Yeah, _that." _She laughs and shakes her head. "Took us by surprise too. You should have seen my Mom's face when she first met Leah."

"I'll bet." Edward makes shooing motions, and Bella skips away across the sand. He watches as she slips her hand into Jacob's, and he automatically puts his arm around her shoulder.

Turns and looks out to sea.

_Are you alright, son?_

Carlisle's thought washes over him as he approaches. Esme smiles kindly and puts her small arm around his waist. The three of them stand close together, like a perfect family montage as the rest of the bridal party moves as one underneath the canopy of stars on First Beach, and James Island seems to take a breath and the world just for one stark moment swings on its axis and in that cavorting second there are flames rising and ash in the air, and the scent of cedar, talcum dusted children, Bella's perfume…

… and it means everything.


End file.
